Keep Holding On
by karalynn79
Summary: Jude and Tommy have been together almost 2 years. It wasn’t always easy, but somehow they made it. Jude was only 16 when they started dating. Tommy couldn’t hold off his feelings. Rating has changed
1. Chapter 1

Summary

Jude and Tommy have been together almost 2 years. It wasn't always easy, but somehow they made it. Jude was only 16 when they started dating. Tommy couldn't hold off his feelings. It's now a couple weeks before her 18th birthday, and they think back on the problems and the people that tried to break them up. Will her 18th birthday bond them closer together, or will someone finally tear them apart.

Chapter 1

He sat in his usual chair watching his girlfriend sing her latest song. After all they'd recorded together; he was still amazed by her voice. They were working on her 3rd album, and it was going to be her best yet. On top of the stress to make this record, Jude's 18th birthday was right around the corner. It was a day they both had been looking forward to. It was the day when no one could judge them anymore. Though their relationship was not public, it didn't mean everyone didn't know they were together.

"What are you day dreaming about, Quincy?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"You, of course." He said with a smirk.

"Are we done for the day?"

"Yeah, that last take was good."

"How would you know? You were in LALA land." She said grinning.

"I was thinking about my girlfriend's birthday."

"Hmm, what about it?" She asked slyly.

"I still haven't figures out what to get her. See she is this amazing artist, and I just want to make sure I get the right thing." They loved their banter.

I'm sure she'd like a nice night locked in a room." She said smiling, though she was thinking he better already have her present.

"Can't do it. That was last year." He loved watching her squirm. He knew what she was thinking. He knew exactly what he was getting her. He was just waiting on the call that it was in.

"Maybe mend her broken heart with a kiss." It was hard to believe this was going to be her third birthday since meeting him. He was always a big part of her day.

"Nope that's already been done, too."

She walked behind him and bent down to whisper in his ear, "You," then she skipped out of the room.

To say Tommy was sexually frustrated was an understatement. Dating Jude was the easiest and the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life. He'd had to prove himself to everyone around that he was the right guy for her. And that included waiting until the time and her age was right. Plus, he didn't want her father to kill him. He remembered when he and Jude admitted their feelings for each other.

_It had been a week since her party, and Tommy still couldn't get her to look at him. He knew what he'd done was wrong, but he couldn't help it. If he hadn't taken that kiss back, the situation would have gotten so much worse. He didn't want to be the older producer taking advantage of his teenage artist. Like he told Kwest, he wasn't that guy. When he wasn't trying to get Jude's attention, he was shrugging off Sadie. She didn't take the hint very well._

"_Sadie, not now, I'm busy." He finally said one day just as Jude walked by and rolled her eyes. "Jude, wait." He followed her leaving a stunned Sadie._

"_What, Tommy? What could you possibly want?" Her tone was beyond aggravated. _

"_I want to talk."_

"_Then talk." She said with a shrug._

"_Not here. Meet me at my car in ten minutes."_

"_Fine whatever!" She walked off in a huff. _

_He went to find Kwest. He had a plan forming in his head, and if it worked out everyone would be happy. "T, where have you been? Sadie has been looking for you."_

"_Kwest, man she is driving me crazy. Why don't you ask her out?" He'd seen the way Kwest had been looking at her. _

"_T, I don't know."_

"_I'm begging you. I have something to take care of with Jude." _

"_You need to be careful, man. She's sixteen."_

"_I know that. You can quit reminding me. I gotta go." Tommy grabbed his jacket and went off to meet Jude at his car._

"_Okay what do you want to talk about?" She asked when he got there._

"_Get in." He was happy when she didn't ask any more questions. He decided they could talk at the pier_

"_Tommy, why are we here?"_

"_Because this is the first place we connected at, and I need you to know how sorry I am for last week."_

"_Fine, Tommy, you're sorry for kissing me. I don't need that apology. I don't need anything from you except to take me home."_

_Tommy felt defeated. It wasn't the kiss he was sorry about. He was sorry he had to take it back. He wanted her to know that if there was a way for them to be together, he'd jump at it. He dropped her off at her house, only to see her run back to the car once he got turned around._

"_Drive." Was all she said._

_The drive back to the studio was in complete silence, and when they got there, they went their separate ways. She had a performance to get ready for. He found Kwest and Sadie is studio A. She was hanging on every word Kwest was saying. He walked by studio C, and heard Jude singing a song he hadn't heard._

_I drift away to a place  
Another kind of life  
Take away the pain  
I create my paradise_

_Everything I've held  
Has hit the wall  
What used to be yours  
Isn't yours at all_

_Falling apart, and all that I'm asking  
Is it a crime, am I overreacting_

_Oh, he's under my skin  
Just give me something to get rid of him  
I've got a reason now to bury this alive  
Another little white lie_

_So what you had didn't fit  
Among the pretty things  
Never fear, never fear  
I now know where you've been_

_Braids have been un-tied  
As ribbons fall away  
Leave the consequence  
But my tears you'll taste_

_Falling apart and all that I question  
Is this a dream or is this my lesson_

_Oh, he's under my skin  
Just give me something to get rid of him  
I've got a reason now to bury this alive  
Another little white lie_

_I don't believe I'll be alright  
I don't believe I'll be OK  
I don't believe how you've thrown me away  
I do believe you didn't try  
I do blame you for every lie  
When I look in your eyes, I don't see mine_

_Oh, he's under my skin  
Just give me something to get rid of him  
I've got a reason now to bury this alive  
Another little white lie_

_Oh my permission to sin  
You might have started my reckoning  
I've got a reason now to bury him alive  
Another little white lie_

_When she was finished he knew she didn't know he was there. He pulled the door shut, locked it, and cleared his throat. "That was an incredible song, Jude. Not exactly how I meant to inspire you." _

_What do you want, Tommy?"_

"_To apologize, for real this time, but hurting you is the last thing I ever wanted to do."_

_Get over yourself. Not everything is about you." She said and went back to strumming her guitar. _

"_Then where did that come from? Shay? Really?"_

_He saw tears in her eyes. "No. I found my dad with another woman today. Okay? Shay didn't mean that much. He was just a distraction. Shouldn't you be off with Sadie?"_

"_She was just a distraction." He copied her words. He moved closer to her. "This afternoon, you didn't let me finish what I was saying. I'm not sorry I kissed you, Jude, I'm sorry I had to take it back." He decided to just spill his heart right there. "I kissed you because I wanted to. You get me. The real me, not Little Tommy Q. Jude you are sixteen, and I'm twenty-two. You see why this is a problem?"_

_He stared at her waiting for an answer. Finally she stood up. "You wanted to kiss me?" she asked just above a whisper._

"_Ever since the video shoot when you talked about wanting your first real kiss. I feel a huge connection with you, but we can't do this."_

"_Why not, if we both feel the same?"_

_He just gave her a questioning look, asking did she really feel the same._

"_Of course, I feel the connection. I have since that day at the pier. You make my music better. You make me a better artist. If we get each other why can't we do this?"_

"_I'm not that guy, Jude, I'm not. Your smart, Jude, You know why."_

"_Whatever, Tommy." And with that she stormed away. He stood there still as miserable as ever._

_The next night, he stood watching her sing the song she'd written about her dad. He couldn't handle it. All he wanted to do was mend her broken heart. He waited for her in her dressing room. _

"_What now, Tommy. I get what you said yesterday. We can't do this. I'm too young."_

_Tommy knew she was going to go into a ramble, so he walked closer to her, and simply kissed her to shut her up. He could tell she was speechless when the kiss broke. "This isn't going to be easy, girl, but I can't seem to help myself."_

_She smiled before he kissed her again._

He told her back then it wasn't going to be easy, and it wasn't. They'd had their share of big fights. People were always trying to break them up. They had to stay low profile. Even though they struggled, he still felt it was worth it all to be with her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jude was in dress fittings with Portia all afternoon. She wanted the perfect dress for her first completely official public appearance with Tommy. The last two years had been hard keeping a low profile. They would have all their dates in private locations. They didn't hold hands in public, but it was still rumored everywhere that they were together.

"So, you and Quincy got big plans for after your party?" Portia asked suggestively.

"Portia!" Jude scolded.

"What? It's your 18th. It'll actually be legal. "

"Portia!" Jude said again covering her face.

"Jude, please. There's no need to be embarrassed. You and Tommy have been together almost two years. Nobody, not even me, could get between you two."

Jude just gave her a look.

"You're telling me that Little Tommy Q, my ex-husband, and you haven't?"

"Nope." She simply answered. She wasn't sure if Portia was whom she wanted to talk to about this. Lately, she'd felt like Tommy was pulling back physically. They'd decide early in their relationship that they'd wait until she was 18 or at least closer to 18.

_It had been a few days since Tommy had quit fighting his feelings, and Jude couldn't have been happier. They didn't act any different at the studio. She knew if they did, Georgia would give them an ear full. They tried to stay focused on recording, and settle for looks instead of touches. It wasn't too hard for her to focus on her songs because they were mostly about him anyway. It was her way of telling him what was on her mind._

"_Okay, girl, let's call it a night." His voice came through the speaker._

'_Was that last one good?"_

"_Perfect." He said walking over to her. "So, what are you doing tonight?"_

"_Mom wants me home for dinner."_

"_How's she doing since your dad moved out?"_

"_She's lonely, and since Sadie has been out with Kwest every night this week, I'm the one to keep her company. How did Sadie and Kwest happen anyway?" _

"_Your sister just needed someone to pay attention to her. But back on topic, I was hoping I could take you somewhere tonight, but I guess it will have to wait."_

"_Like a date?" She asked with a huge smile._

"_Yeah, but your mom wants you home."_

"_I can call her and say I'm working."_

"_Then Sadie would be home because Kwest would be with us."_

"_I could call and say Kat needs me."_

_Jude, I don't want you lying to you mom. It's not right."_

_She knew he was right. They'd decided not to tell her parents until they figured everything out. They weren't really doing anything wrong. As long as they didn't take their relationship a certain way, they weren't breaking any laws. "Okay, what if I go home and eat, then tell my mom that you and I have a song to write." That would always work because truthfully she'd probably have a new song written by the end of the night._

"_Text me when dinner is over." _

"_Will do, Mr. Producer." She grabbed her stuff and blew him a kiss._

_She was surprised at how easily her mom let her go after dinner. She jumped in Tommy's car with a big smile on her face. "Hi."_

"_Hi." He repeated before leaning over and giving her a breathtaking kiss._

"_Thank God for tinted windows." She said when the kiss broke._

"_I wanted to do that all afternoon."_

"_Me, too." She blushed._

_He ran his knuckle down her cheek and smiled. "You ready?"_

"_Let's go."_

_He took her to this coffee shop that had live music. It was open mic night, and Jude was so excited._

"_Why don't you try out that new song?" He whispered in her ear._

_They had the best time. Even though they didn't show PDA for public reasons, Jude loved just being out with him. It was crazy how much they had in common. They could talk for hours about music. She was always amazed at how much he knew about rock being from a boy-band. It wasn't just music either, it was the way they looked at life in general. _

_When they left there he was just driving around. "Where are we going?" She asked with a giggle._

"_Nowhere, everywhere, anywhere you want." He shrugged and took her hand._

"_I had fun tonight. That place is cool, and now I am wired."_

"_I should have cut you off after your fifth cup."_

"_Don't take my coffee away."_

"_Never. So, what time do you have to be home?"_

"_When ever we get through working."_

"_Are you ready to go home?"_

"_No." She said shaking her head._

"_Then what do you want to do?"_

_She just shrugged. All she knew was she wanted to spend time with him. It din't matter if they drove around all night or sat in silence._

"_Okay, I guess I will just have to think of something."_

_She nodded and stared out the window. She was enjoying the feel of his hand in hers, and the comfortable silence between them. She noticed he pulled up to an apartment complex that she knew was his, and gave him a questioning look._

"_I thought we could watch that movie we talked about last week. Then I will take you home."_

"_Okay."_

_Half way through the movie, she noticed him staring at her. "What do I have something on my face?"_

"_Yeah a beautiful smile. You haven't smiled enough lately."_

"_You keep being this good to me, and I'll smile all the time." She said blushing._

_He leaned over and met her lips in a deep kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair trying to get him closer to her. She tilted her head as the kiss deepened. She could live off his kisses and his kisses alone. She felt his lips move to her neck, down her shoulder as they laid down. Her mind was completely fuzzy. His lips and hands felt so good. She felt his hand go under her shirt, across the bare skin on her stomach as his lips reattached to hers. His hand was creeping up._

"_Tommy." She said breathlessly._

"_Hmm?" He replied but didn't stop._

"_Maybe we need to stop."_

_He sat up pulling her into his lap. "Sorry." He said resting his forehead against hers. "I guess I got carried away."_

"_Don't be sorry. It's just; I'm sixteen, Tommy. I'm not ready for that type of relationship." She noticed a look in his eyes. "And it's not our age difference. If I had a boyfriend that was my age, I wouldn't be ready."_

"_I understand. I would never want you to do something you weren't ready for. I will wait forever if I have to."_

"_Not forever, just until I am older and we're more comfortable in our relationship. I know it will be hard, but this way we are really not doing anything wrong."_

_He nodded and she could tell he understood where she was coming from. "As long as I get to spend time with you, hold you, and kiss you, I've got all I need."_

_The sincerity in his eyes made her pull his face into yet another fiery kiss. She allowed herself to get swept into the make out session knowing it wouldn't go any further._

"_Better get you home." He said pulling away a while later. _

"_Yeah." She said running her fingers through her long red hair." God, I wish I was eighteen."_

"_Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be here when you are." He said leading her to his car._

Now two weeks from eighteen, she felt like he was loosing interest.

"Where'd you go? You totally zoned on me." Portia brought her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry. Portia can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course, Sweetie."

"When Tommy and I got together we decided to wait. I wasn't ready. I was only sixteen. Over time it was hard, but I can say honestly I was never really ready for a long time. It seems the closer to eighteen I get the more he pulls away."

"Jude, Tommy loved you more than anything." Portia reassured her.

"I know he loves me. That's not really what I'm worried about. Portia, I'm scared I've made him wait too long, that he doesn't want me like that anymore." She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Jude, you are a beautiful girl, and he has opened up to you in ways he never opened up to me. Of course, he wants you like that. He's holding himself back. And the Tommy I was married to, that was a hard task. But, Jude, you have changed him for the better. You're just over thinking. The man probably has something huge planned for after your party."

"I don't know. I guess I just don't want to get my hopes up."

"Don't worry about it. You two were meant for each other."

"Thanks, Portia."

"No problem, Sweetie. I think we found your dress." She commented on the dress she just tried on.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tommy was leaving when he saw Jude come out of the conference room. "Hey, did you find a dress?"

"Yep sure did. Have you gotten your suit yet?"

"I thought you said I didn't have to." He pouted.

"Only because I love you." She said sweetly trying to use reverse psychology.

"Ditto, but no suit."

"Fine where you off to?"

"I have some errands to run then it is back to the studio with Karma. She said something about needing to be done early tonight. You want me to meet you at the rehearsal space afterwards?"

"No, Just come by the house. Dad is still out of town, and Speid said he needed the space for something tonight."

Tommy gave her a questioning look. "I didn't ask questions."

"I'll see you later then."

"Love you." Jude said and gave him a small peck on the lips.

"You, too." He replied and left.

Jude just stared after him for a few minutes. "What's wrong?" Sadie asked coming up beside her.

"Does Kwest still tell you he loves you in public?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You two have been together just as long as Tommy and I, and lately Tommy doesn't."

"Jude, you are being silly. Anyway are you heading home?"

"Yeah thought I'd get some stuff done and a nap before Tommy comes over."

"Can I ride with you? I rode with Kwest this morning, and he is in a meeting with Darius."

"Of course, let's go." Jude thought maybe some sister time would be good for her. It had been a long time since Tommy didn't say his affection back to her, and she couldn't figure out why he was pulling back.

On the drive home she thought about the night her mom found out about them.

_It had been a couple of weeks since they decided to be together. They'd just gone out to celebrate her first performance with her new back up band, and he was taking her home._

"_I think SME is going to be great for me. All those other bands were too old for me."_

"_You're right. I wouldn't want those guys near you. The way some were looking at you made me want to throw them out of G Major."_

"_I know, and that one guy was all up in my space."_

"_I am the only one allowed to do that." He said killing the engine in front of her house, and leaning over for a soft kiss. _

"_Hmm. I missed you this week." She said a bit dazed._

"_Me too. We've only seen each other at work. What's been going on?"_

"_Mom stuff. Jamie and Kat stuff. Tommy, I'm an idiot."_

"_Why?"_

"_I have you, and I have been focusing on Jamie dating Kat. And I probably ruined that. I am a horrible best friend."_

"_Jude, you were thrown for a loop. You didn't know they liked each other that way. And I'm sorry I've been so busy this week."_

"_Yeah what have you been doing?"_

"_Georgia has me on a couple extra projects. But I have missed you." He said taking her hand. "All this pretending we're just producer and artist is exhausting. Tonight when your dad showed up, I wanted to go off on him."_

"_I figured you would, that's why I called Jamie."_

"_I understand. You don't need to explain, Jude. Enough about that." He said with a smirk pulling her chin up towards him. The kiss was soft at first but quickly grew proving how both had missed the other._

_A throat clearing interrupted them. They'd forgot the windows were rolled down. I was Jude's mom. "Mom!" Jude said jumping away from Tommy._

"_Both of you in the house, NOW!" Victoria said sternly._

_As they were walking up to the house, Jude took one of Tommy's hands before he could put it in his pocket. She gave it a little squeeze to reassure him and herself. She hoped this wouldn't make him second-guess them._

"_This is all your father's fault. I knew we shouldn't let you enter that contest. Jude, you are sixteen years old. And, you, what do you think you are doing with my daughter?" Victoria started when they were in the living room. _

"_Mom." Jude said before Tommy could answer that last question. "Let us explain."_

"_Jude, do you realize how much older he is?"_

_Jude was feeling slightly embarrassed and didn't want to do this in front of Tommy. "Mom, can we talk in the kitchen?"_

_Victoria huffed and walked towards the kitchen._

"_Tommy, stay here?" She made it more like a question. He just nodded._

"_Jude, you are barely sixteen years old." Her mom started as soon as the kitchen door was closed. "He is older. Too old. I told your father this was going to happen after that picture in talk national. He's taking advantage of you. This is WRONG!"_

"_Mom, stop. Look Tommy is not taking advantage of me. I enjoy spending time with him. We are not doing anything wrong."_

"_Jude, again, you are sixteen. You need to hang out with boys your own age. And this is wrong, you are a minor."_

"_Trust me when I say this, I know I'm only sixteen and a minor. Tommy and I aren't in that kind of relationship, mom. We know what we can and can't do by law." Jude could tell her mom was dumbfounded. She and Tommy were serious enough about each other to find out what they could and couldn't do._

"_I don't like this, but this family is fractured enough right now." She said and left the room. Jude knew that was not the end of that._

"_So?" Tommy asked when she returned to the living room._

"_She's not happy, but she's not throwing you out on your head. She just needs time to see we care about each other."_

_He nodded in return. "I better get going. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon?"_

"_Yep,"_

Jude was never really sure if her mother ever approved, but it didn't matter since she'd left anyway.

"What are you thinking about over there?" Sadie asked.

"Mom."

"Sweetie, don't do this to yourself. She left us, but we are still standing."

"I know. We have dad anyway."

"Yeah, speaking of dad. He called and said he'd be home the day before your birthday."

"Good, I miss him."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Tommy left the studio, he had a lot of things to do. Mainly, part of Jude's birthday present was coming in today, and he had to pick it up. He had errands to run all over town to get ready for her birthday. He wanted to make her eighteenth special. He wanted her to know just how much she really meant to him. He thought about when he knew he loved her.

_Things with Jude were going good. Of course they weren't taking things public, but the people close to them just knew. Since, her mom wasn't causing a fuss, they seemed to be falling into a comfortable relationship. He hoped it would stay like that for a while._

"_Did you read this?" Jude asked as he walked into the studio one day._

"_She's just trying to extend her fifteen minutes of fame." He responded. It was an article of Eden saying Jude was stalking her._

"_I couldn't care less about her anymore. She can have Shay." She threw the magazine almost hitting Kwest._

"_Hey now." He said laughing._

"_Sorry. I just wish they would forget about all of that. I've moved on, everyone else should."_

_He couldn't help but smile at her statement. "The media will die down, you just have to wait it out." He said putting his hands on her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. He heard her give a happy sigh._

"_We could create a scandal." She said with a hint of laughter and he knew she was joking._

"_That goes against one of your mother's conditions. Remember, we have to stay out of the tabloids." He glanced up at Kwest who was trying to hold in a laugh._

_They had made an agreement with Victoria that he'd always have her home by curfew, they'd cut out really late recording sessions and they'd stay out of the tabloids. With his track record, that was going to be the hardest part._

"_Okay, no scandal, but…" Before she could finish they heard Georgia clear her throat. _

"_Tom you have a visitor." She said pointing at none other than Chas Blackburn. He was the last person he wanted to be in the same room with. And definitely didn't want to do this in front of Jude. By the time he walked back in the room, he was about ready to throw something._

"_What he want?" Jude and Kwest asked at the same time._

"_He wants Jude to do Music Helps."_

"_That's great publicity for her." Georgia offered._

"_Yeah." Jude agreed. "But why are you so upset?"_

_He stayed quiet._

"_I'm going to go talk to EJ about getting a press release ready." Georgia said leaving the room._

"_I have to go call Sadie. Later." Kwest left._

_It was just the two of them, and he was still being quiet. He didn't want to tell her why he was upset because he knew what she'd say._

"_Hey, you're so far away. Come back to me." She said touching his face._

"_Hey."_

"_Tommy, what's wrong? What did Chas do to make you mad?"_

"_He wants me to do it, too. Jude, I haven't performed in five years. And I know Chas always has an angle."_

"_Then don't do it for him. Do it for the cause."_

"_I don't have any new material, and I'm not doing a "Boyz" song."_

_She smiled at him. "Then do a song you helped you super hot girlfriend write. They are just as much your songs as mine." _

"_I'll think about it. So, tonight what's the game plan?"_

"_I have to be at dinner with my mom. She's insane! She lets Sadie go out, but wants me at home."_

_He couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah but she's eighteen, and not dating me."_

"_What ever. I'll call you before I go to bed."_

_The next day she stormed into his office. "Why do other girls exist?" And sat down on his couch._

"_What's going on, girl?"_

"_First Kat won't talk to me. She's acting like I stole Jamie from her. I was wrong to call Jamie away from her fashion show. I know that. She won't listen to my apology. Then, you want to know what I saw on TV while Jamie and I were hanging out after school?" _

"_What?"_

"_Eden! Saying we're doing a duet for Music Helps."_

"_Chas didn't mention that to me. That's it I'm pulling us both." He said reaching for the phone._

"_No way, so she can tell the whole world I punked out? No, I have a plan."_

"_Plan what are you thinking?"_

"_I'll do the duet, and I will just have to show her up. She may have Shay, but I got the real prize."_

"_And what would that be?" He asked smirking._

"_You." She said moving over to where he was sitting. _

_He was about to kiss her when he heard someone cough. _

"_Georgia." He said almost jumping out of his chair._

"_Jude, press conference is this afternoon. Be here after school." She gave them a knowing look and left._

"_I better get going. Maybe I can grovel to Kat some more."_

"_It'll get better. I'm sorry all of this is like it is."_

"_Don't. As long as I have you, I am fine."_

_He knew all of this secret stuff was getting to her. The only people that they could actually act like a couple in front of were Kwest and Sadie. She wasn't even telling her friends about them. Now all this crap with Eden was bringing Shay back up. He wished they could leave sometimes, and just be by themselves. _

_The day was long. He had a band to work with, plus he had to pick a song to sing. It wasn't hard to pick his favorite Jude song. 24 Hours just seemed like the natural choice. It was the first song they worked on together, when he pushed her to change the lyrics. While he was waiting on Jude to get there, he decided to give it a try._

"_Oh, can you stop? You're hurting my ears." Jude came in with a smile._

_Tommy couldn't help but laugh._

"_What can I say? You've made it yours." She said walking over to him._

"_I gotta admit it feels right. This is the same direction I wanted to take Boyz Attack right before I left the band."_

"_What happened? Why is there so much bad blood?" She asked touching his arm._

"_Chas accused me of hogging the spot light. He never wanted to listen to my ideas. I wanted to take us out of the boy-band phase."_

"_I'm sorry, Tommy. It must have been hard."_

"_Let's just go get this over with."_

_After the press conference, Tommy was furious again. Chas had tricked him into a Boyz Attack performance not a solo performance. _

"_Tommy, it's just one song. It won't be that bad. You're a producer. Change the arrangement up. Make it different and let them hear it." Jude said when he was taking her home._

"_Chas will never go for it." He felt defeated._

"_Won't know if you don't try. I better go in. Kat will be here in a bit, and I'm hoping I can fix things tonight."_

"_Okay I'll call you later." He kissed her lightly before she got out._

_He was heading home when his cell phone rang, and he saw Jude's picture. "Miss me already Harrison?" He said with a chuckle._

"_Always, but I'm calling to ask a favor."_

"_What's up, Girl?"_

"_I know you are angry, but don't go get drunk tonight. Just go home and calm down. Maybe, I can get out of the house later."_

"_For you, anything." He hung up with a smile on his face. It was odd the effect she had on him. He really would do anything for her._

_The day for Music Helps finally came. Tommy pulled out of the performance. Chas wanted them to do the whole thing like they used to, white suits and all. _

"_Shouldn't you be in a whit suit by now?" Sadie asked._

"_I'm not doing it."_

"_I'm going to be nice right now because you're my sister's boyfriend. Tommy, don't disappoint your fans because your big ego is in the way. Jude and Kwest have told me a little of what is going on. Where is Jude anyway? It's about time for duet with Eden."_

"_She had an idea that would patch things up with Kat. She should be back by now."_

"_Oh well, if she doesn't show up, at least Eden can embarrass herself."_

"_I better call her before Georgia gets pissed." He flipped his phone open._

"_Hey, I'm on my way now. Am I too late?"_

"_Listen." He put the phone out so she could hear Eden. "What do you think?"_

"_Georgia is going to kill me."_

"_I have a plan. Meet me backstage."_

_Taking the stage with the Boyz was totally different this time. This time he and Chas weren't fighting over the spotlight. They were putting the spotlight on his girl. While she was singing, he had to focus so the audience wouldn't notice how he looked at her. At the end of the song, he couldn't quit smiling._

"_You loved it didn't you?" She asked smiling brightly._

_His first initial thought was 'I love __**you**__.' But he caught himself before saying it. "Anything for charity." He said wrapping an arm around her shoulder._

It hadn't scared him that night making that realization. He knew Jude, even then, was it for him. It just seemed natural being with her. Picking up her main present, he hoped she would like it as much as he thought she would. He ran by his apartment to hide it. That was a challenge in its self. Jude had a habit of finding things when she wasn't even looking for them. Then it was back to the studio for a recording session with Karma.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey Everyone! This is my first fic that I am posting. I have written fiction for years. So I decides to share with everyone. I already have quite a bit written on this story so I might try to update frequently. I do my own editing, so if you see any mistakes feel free to let me know. I am pretty anal about detail, so I try to detail everything as much as possible. I love to read reviews so please review all you want. If you didn't already know everything in italics is flashbacks. I use the show as a guideline, but twist the events to fit my storyline.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 5

Jude was trying to shake her feeling of Tommy pulling away. She knew he loved her. She could see it in his eyes, but she wanted to feel wanted again. It was always hard to hold back during the beginning of their relationship. She remembered going to his place after performing on Music Helps.

"_So how'd I get so lucky for you coming back here with me?" He asked as they were sitting on the couch._

"_Sadie. She called mom and told her we all were going out to eat. As long as mom thinks I'm with Sadie, she doesn't care."_

"_Hmm, lucky me." He said smiling at her._

"_What are you smiling at?" She was feeling a bit self-conscience. _

"_Your plan was perfect. You blew Eden out of the water."_

_This did excite her. "And I got to perform with you."_

"_Yep." He said before kissing her._

_She'd missed his lips. They'd been so busy lately that there wasn't much time for just them. The kiss deepened and she felt like she couldn't get close enough to him. When she needed air, it was he just knew and would move to her neck._

"_I have missed you, so much." He whispered in her ear causing chills to run all over her body._

"_Me, too." She responded pulling his lips back to hers. She wasn't able to comprehend anything. She was totally lost in bliss. All she could think about was his lips and his hands felt so good. The only thing that brought her back to her senses was loosing contact with him. "Tommy?" She opened her eyes. She was still trying to catch her breath and could tell he was, too._

_"Maybe we should… You want something to drink?" He asked walking toward the kitchen._

"_Water would be great." She said sitting up. _

"_Here you go." He said returning. "So, how'd things go with Kat?"_

"_Really good. I think she and I are going to be okay."_

"_That's good. What did you come up with?"_

"_Well, it was some snide remark Eden made. She said she didn't know why I cared so much. That Shay and I only dated for a couple of months. It wasn't like I loved him or anything. That's when I realized, sure I didn't love him, but Kat loved Jamie. She'd never even told him."_

"_I hope now we can put Shay and Eden behind us and move on." Tommy said._

"_That's all I want. Kat and I are going to hang out tomorrow. I wish I could get her and Jamie back together."_

"_That might be a difficult task."_

'_Why?"_

"_Girl, are not that blind."_

"_I'm with you. This is where I want to be."_

"_I know, I'm just saying. I watched him struggle between the both of you that day. I'll admit it wasn't easy to watch and not say anything, but he was so torn. I could tell he liked Kat, but his feelings for you are something totally different."_

"_He's my best friend, but I don't feel that way." She had this need to stress that to him so he would know whom she wanted._

"_I just want you to be aware. Teenage boys are fragile."_

"_Shut up, Tommy. I'm not leading him on."_

"_Jude I never said you were, but he is blind to certain things. Look at everyone around us. The only people that know, from our mouths, that we are together are Kwest, Sadie, and your mom. But the look on Georgia's face the other day to me, she knew, but wasn't saying anything. Jamie is your best friend and he doesn't see it. I just don't want you to be blindsided when he decides to tell you how he feels."_

"_You are the best boyfriend ever." She said leaning her forehead against his. She could tell he only wanted what was best for her._

_"I just don't want you to loose your best friend. It's hard in this business with out one person to have your back at all times. I don't know what I'd do with out Kwest."_

_She couldn't help but kiss him again. He was looking out for her, and that meant the world to her. She was swept away with the sensations of his mouth and hands again. She didn't know how she lived life with out them before. She pulled back slightly to look in his eyes. "I know you'll always have my back." She said breathlessly._

"_Always." He said into her ear and kissing the spot right underneath, slightly grazing her skin with his tongue. _

_Just then there was a knock on the door, making them jump apart. Jude straightened her hair and clothes, while Tommy went to the door. It was Kwest and Sadie. Jude had never been happier to see her sister in her life. She and Tommy were getting intense._

"_Ready to go, Sis?"_

It seemed like they longer they were together, the easier the holding back was. That just didn't seem right. She had to find something to get her mind off the subject.

~Let me know what you think~


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I was feeling a bit generous today!!

Chapter 6

Tommy had never been happier about getting out of the studio. Karma's ego was too much for him. He was going to get take out because he knew Jude would be hungry. She was always hungry. Never had he met a girl that could eat like her.

He was on his way when he cell rang. "Hello?"

"Little brother, what's up?"

"Tristian, it's been awhile."

"Yeah, sorry for not returning your calls. Did you get the package?"

"I did. It came today. Thanks for sending it to me."

"It's rightfully yours to give, but Tom what have you gotten yourself into, a seventeen-year-old girl? I thought you left those days behind you."

"It's not like that man. She's amazing. She's turning eighteen in less than two weeks, but when you know her she seems so much older. We've been together for a while. She's it for me man."

"Wow, I never thought the day would come when I would hear my little brother talk like that. I'm surprised you didn't ask me to send you something else."

"I have that taken care of too."

"You've defiantly made a life for yourself out there bro." There was a slight pause. "So, are you going to ask about her?"

"She doesn't care about me. I was the screw up son."

"I still wish I could've made things better for you."

"Don't, that was a long time ago. I got out. You just keep taking care of her, and let me know if there is anything you need."

When Tommy closed his phone, he was finally able to relax a bit. His family was not a subject he liked to talk about. His mom was an abusive alcoholic who treated him like he was worthless. When he was little no matter how much his big brother tried to protect him, his mom would drink and take all her anger out on him. He would never have relationship with his mom, but his brother was a different story. They might not talk a lot, but they still got along.

When he got to Jude's, he found her sitting in her living room flipping through channels. "I brought take out." He noticed that she seemed distracted.

"Hey. I'm not hungry." She said of handedly.

"Not hungry, girl, what's wrong?"

She didn't respond, so he put the boxes in the refrigerator, and went back to the living room. He just watched her for a few seconds. It looked like she'd been crying. She wasn't paying attention that he was there at all. He sat down beside her and pulled her to him.

"He still won't talk to me. He still blames me." She said putting her head on his shoulder.

"So you tried to talk to Jamie?" It was all making since to him now.

"It wasn't your fault or even his. I'm not sure if anyone could have saved Patsy. He's in a bad spot. It's hard loosing some one you love that way. I was messed up for a longtime."

I hate that you've experienced this before. Did I ever thank you for opening up to me?"

_They were finishing up her first album. Everything around the studio was crazy. They were there late hours, and no one was getting much sleep. So many people surrounded Tommy and Jude; it was hard to get a moment alone. Finally, it was dinnertime and they were left at the soundboard mixing, just the two of them. _

_"I can't believe it; we're mixing our last song together." She couldn't stop smiling. She's wanted her own c.d. since she could remember. _

_"That's right, thirty-six hours and then I am on a plane to New York, final mix in hand. And then one last day of mastering and then that's it, the albums done. The end of an era girl." He was proud of what they'd created over the last several months. _

_"Or the start of a new one. I've already started writing songs for our next album." She'd been so inspired lately it was like lyrics just flowed out of her on to the paper._

_"It's your album, I'm just the wing man."_

_"Are you kidding me? Tommy, you're my producer. You're my co-writer. You're my partner. Not to mention my inspiration. I couldn't do this without you."_

_"You might have to, Jude. I don't know if I want to produce your next record. I think I need a break." He knew as soon as the words left his mouth he'd chosen the wrong words. He felt musically confused when it came to Jude. He didn't want to hold her back. He wanted her to grow as an artist._

_"Why?" Her voice dripped with emotion._

_"It's hard to explain, I just know something's missing." He kept choosing the wrong words._

_"Oh, so you're dumping me?" She said thinking any minute she was going to stop breathing._

"_No." He said quickly shaking his head and pulling her to him. The last thing he wanted to do was break-up. He kissed her lips quickly. "Jude, just go home, and get some sleep."_

_She nodded finally feeling the ground under her feet again. "But be warned Quincy, you can't get rid of me that easy."_

"_I promise, I'm not trying to." He reassured her._

"_See you tomorrow." He nodded and gave her another quick kiss._

_Jude could barely sleep; all she did was toss and turn. Tommy's words replayed over and over in her mind. He doesn't want to produce her anymore, but he said he wasn't breaking up with her. She didn't understand what he was getting at._

"_Having trouble sleeping, Sis?" She heard Sadie's voice from the door._

"_Sorry, did my tossing wake you up?"_

"_Kwest just called to let me know he got home. What's wrong?"_

_Jude sighed and sat up. "Tommy doesn't want to produce my next record."_

"_What? Why?"_

"_He said something was missing. That he needed break. Sadie, I can't figure out what he means."_

"_Did he say he needed a break from you or the producing?"_

"_He promised he wasn't trying to get rid of me, but what could be missing?"_

"_Maybe he wants to record again. His first attempt at a solo record was never complete."_

"_What?"_

"_All I know is it was called 'Frozen.' It never came out and was never talked about again."_

_Tommy couldn't sleep though he knew he needed to. He kept thinking about what he told Jude. He wanted to keep working with her, but maybe not working together would help their relationship. Maybe not working together would keep them out of the public eye. All he wanted to do was protect her. If she had a new producer, they wouldn't be under public scrutiny all the time. Sleep wasn't coming tonight._

_The next day was just as crazy, but the end result was closer. As soon as Jude arrived at the studio, Darius approached her. He gave her flowers and slipped her his card. Tommy saw this and knew he needed to intervene._

"_Tom. I just want to congratulate you and your girl here on finishing the album." _

"_Thank you Darius." Tommy forced a smile. There was no way he was going to let Darius control Jude the way he used to control him, "Jude can you just give me one minute with Darius?" _

"_Yeah" She said walking away. She couldn't help but look at the business card in her hand._

_Tommy turned back to Darius. "You sign her over my dead body."_

"_Think what's best for her. I made you a star." _

"_You made me do taco commercials. And you aren't going to do the same to her clear?"_

_Luckily, Georgia approached them. "Shouldn't you be mixing Tom? This album leaves this building at six a.m."_

_Tommy nodded and walked away. He had to keep a clear head to finish this album on time._

_Jude decided to go find Kwest. If anyone would know about Frozen, it would be him. She found him working in one of the studios. "What's 'Frozen'?" She was straight to the point._

_He didn't want to tell her, but she insisted it was really important. He told her the story. "Darius locked it in his vault. Imagine if someone came right now and took your record away?"_

"_Kwest, what would you say if I was able to get it back from Darius?" Jude had a plan forming. She was going to make a deal with the devil._

_Tommy was working on levels when Sadie walked in. "What can I do for you?"_

"_Are you trying to get rid of Jude?"_

_Tommy just rolled his eyes; this was the last thing he needed. "Sadie, I'm trying to finish here."_

"_Look, she's crazy about you."_

"_And I'm crazy about her, Sadie. This has nothing to do with her personally, it's business."_

"_Well, she's taking it personal." Sadie said then walked away._

_Jude was working on a new arrangement for his song when she heard the announcement that her album was finished. She ran to find Tommy. "Congratulations!" She said hugging him. "You did it."_

"_No, you did it. This is your masterpiece." He said framing her face with his hands and looking into her eyes._

"_You know, for the celebration of the album, I kind of have a gift for you, and I think you'll like it."_

_Tommy felt stupid he didn't get her anything. "A gift for me? I didn't get you anything."_

"_Yeah you did this album. This album's my gift." Tommy just wanted to kiss her right then and there, not caring who saw it._

"_Jude, Tommy, get in here." Georgia's voice brought them out of their trance on each other._

"_Look, go have some fun alright. This is your moment enjoy it." _

_Tommy noticed Jude's dad, and made a mental note to ask her about it later. He wanted her to enjoy her success. He tried to keep a distance between them because they hadn't told Stuart yet. Every time she smiled over at him he felt like he was a pile of goo. _

_When the party was over, he went to find her in studio C. "Alright, I'm ready for my big gift, where is it?"_

_Jude smiled and started playing a song that he hadn't heard or even thought about in years. It felt like knife was in his heart. He'd written this in a very dark and painful time in his life. How did she know about this, and why would she do this to him?_

_She noticed he didn't seem happy. "You didn't like it?"_

"_How did you even find out about this?" He couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening._

"_Kwest. Did you not like the rewrite? Would you want to record it?"_

"_Slow down, even if I wanted to, Darius still owns that record."_

"_Not anymore! I got it for you Tom." She said handing him a c.d._

_Then Darius walked in. "She drove a hard bargain too. It's strictly business. I had something Jude wanted, and Jude had something I wanted. Now everybody's happy. Say hello to my newest client."_

_Tommy couldn't' stay there any longer. He stormed out. Jude went after hm. "Tommy!"_

_He went out the back alley. "Tommy! Tommy, can you just wait a second?" She grabbed for him. "Can you just wait one second?"_

"_I can't believe he tricked you into this! Okay? It's inexcusable." _

"_Tommy, it was my idea. You said something was missing and I think I found it, the record."_

"_It's a demo, Jude it's half finished."_

"_Then we work together and finish it. Imagine what we can do. You don't want to work on my next record, then I will help you work on yours."_

_He couldn't stay mad at her when he realized what this was all about. "God, Jude is that why you did this? I'm not going anywhere. You're my girl, and I don't want that to change. But I can't believe you meddled in my past that way."_

"_I just wanted to do something nice for you. You've worked so hard on my record."_

_Girl, that record was personal. I was going through a lot. Darius promised me a solo career if I stayed, but all he did was lock it away."_

_She looked up at him. "What do you mean stayed?"_

"_Why don't we have this conversation inside?" He said pulling her to his side. They walked inside to his office. She sat on his couch as he paced._

"_Portia and I got married in a drunken moment. I was young and stupid. After Darius found out, he was very protective over his little sister .I wasn't proud of my actions. The Boyz and I were on tour, and I started hanging out with one of our backup singers, Angie. We could talk for hours. She always seemed to see the real me. I was Tommy, not Little Tommy Q."_

_All Jude could do was just sit and listen to his story._

"_Before I knew it Angie was my world. She wanted to run away together, but before that could happen, Portia found out there was someone else. We fought and I ran out. Darius called me into a meeting, and promised me that I could have my own career with the kind of music I wanted to record."_

"_What was his condition?" She asked catching on._

"_If I left his sister he'd end my career. So, I thought about it. I went to Angie and told her I couldn't run away with her. I told her that I wasn't in love with her, She tried to change my mind telling me she knew I was lying. I wouldn't give in and she grabbed my keys." He sat down beside her on the couch. "The next I heard she wrapped the car around a tree and died instantly." He had tears in his eyes._

"_Oh, Tommy." She turned to face him._

"_Darius kept enough of his word that he let me do the demo. Then he locked it up and told me I was bound to my contract. Frozen was a song about how I was feeling."_

"_I'm sorry. I would never want to bring something like this up. God, I'm an idiot."_

"_No you're not. In a twisted way it was sweet." He said just above a whisper before capturing her lips in a light but deep kiss._

_They were interrupted by a cough._

"_Dad!"_

"_I'm taking you home. NOW!"_

_The next day, Tommy had to see Jude before he left for New York. He hadn't got much sleep because he was thinking about his past. It was nice to open up to someone new. Plus, he was almost afraid for his life because of her dad_

"_I'm so glad you came. Come on." She pulled him into the house._

"_I've only got a couple of minutes. I wanted to come by before I left."_

"_Look again, I'm sorry I totally meddled."_

"_Don't worry about it. Like I said last night it was sweet. How was your ride home with your dad?"_

_Jude just rolled her eyes. "He thinks he can tell me how I feel. Well, I told him how I felt about him tearing our family apart."_

"_Anyways, I made a decision that I thought was pretty big."_

"_What might that be?" She asked._

"_I want to produce your next record if you still want me."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really." He said before she jumped in his arms. _

"_Of course, I want you."_

"_I take that as a yes."_

"_Of course yes. Ad I want to thank you for opening up to me. That couldn't have been easy._

"_When I get back, I want to take you somewhere." He said holding her in a tight hug. He pulled back to lightly kiss her._

"_You're going to be late, Quincy."_

I realized something that morning" Jude said looking up at him.

"What?"

"Just how much I loved you." She answered curling her hand on the side of his face.

"I already knew how much I loved you. He said before meeting her lips in a deep kiss.

When the kiss broke, she smiled. Maybe she was just being silly like Sadie said. "So, I have an idea I wanted to run by you.

"Okay." He said smiling down on her.

"So, I was thinking since we haven't gotten much time together lately, we do something totally different with this album."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Why don't we record each song in a different location? That way instead of being cramped into a studio all day, we can out and have some freedom. Plus, we'll get more time alone."

"Not a bad idea at all." Tommy said with a smirk. "We'll have to run it by D, but I love it."

"And I love you."

Review and let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

This is a short chapter, but longer ones are coming.

Chapter 7

He finally got her to eat. Later they were lying on the couch watching a movie. Tommy had his arms wrapped around her waist holding her tightly to him. Jude was so comfortable in his arms. The last couple of weeks had been so stressful. With Patsy's death and getting ready for her big birthday bash, she was exhausted. Her mind kept drifting back to the drive home with her dad that night.

"_What do you think you are doing with him? If your mother finds out about this she is going to blame me."_

"_Tommy and I are together, and mom already knows."_

"_Jude, he is too old for you. I have a good mind to have him arrested for this. You are sixteen years old."_

"_We are not doing anything he could get arrested for. We both know we have boundaries that can't be crossed. I care about him, and he cares about me. Mom set some rules, and as long as we abide by them, she's happy."_

"_I don't like this."_

"_Well, I don't like that you cheated on mom, but you did. So, you are going to have to get used to me being with Tommy."_

"_Jude, do you really want to be on the cover of every tabloid? That is what being with Tommy Q is going to be like, and I don't want that for my sixteen year old daughter."_

"_We haven't been on one yet. We know what we are doing. Of course you wouldn't know that."_

"_If you remember correctly, you haven't wanted me around lately. I guess now I know why."_

"_Dad, you brought this on yourself when you had an affair."_

_When she got home all she could think about was the last 24 hours. It was crazy, but exciting. Her first record was done. She had an amazing boyfriend that she almost lost due to meddling. She learned something painful from his past that made her see how special his heart really was. Sleep didn't come easily that night because her mind wouldn't shut off._

Tommy lightly kissed her neck bringing her out of her thoughts. "You seemed far away." He said into her ear.

"Just thinking." She said leaning more into his embrace. "I love you so much. You know that right?"

"Of course, girl, I love you too." He said as she turned to face him. He looked straight into her eyes before kissing her softly.

Jude just wanted to hold on forever. When she was in his arms she knew life would always work out. "It's late." Jude said in a whisper.

"Yeah." Tommy replied. "Maybe I should go. Sadie should be home soon."

"She's staying with Kwest tonight. Could we just stay here?"

"Sure, girl, what ever you want." He kissed her forehead and watched her fall asleep. She was his angel. She came around in his life at just the right time. If it wasn't for her, he wasn't sure where he'd be in life. He would do whatever possible to make sure she was in his arms forever.

~Review let me know what you think so far.~


	8. Chapter 8

Thought since I had another short chapter I'd post. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 8

As Tommy watched her sleep, he couldn't help but remember when he struggled to tell her how he really felt about her. It was before her first tour and he wasn't sure if it was time to tell her yet.

_It was time for Jude's album to come out. It was the day they'd worked so hard for. Tommy was still on edge with Darius being Jude's manager now. He wanted Jude on a big tour, where Tommy thought a small club tour was more suiting for her. The day was even more stressful for him because he was trying to decide if he should tell her how he felt before she left. It was odd for him to be like this. Honestly, he didn't tell girls he loved them. He was never the relationship guy, but Jude changed all that. _

_They were going to the coffee place that night to celebrate. It had turned into their place. No one knew them there, and no one paid them any mind. _

"_You know how long I've waited to hold my own c.d. in my hand?" She was just beaming._

"_I think I got an idea." He replied smiling. "So the record dropped today, and you go on tour. I mean we are heading into a whole new era."_

"_Yeah about the tour, it's kind of small."_

_He just sighed. He had hoped Darius wouldn't get to her. "Don't listen to Darius, okay? He just wants to turn it into a big stupid pop act. Touring, it's a new muscle for you. You gotta get used to it."_

_She smiled and he knew what was coming. "So, come with me."_

_He just made a noise._

"_Come on. You know I'm better with you than with out you."_

"_Ditto, but look I'm a producer, I'm not a roadie. Plus you've got EJ to chaperone."_

"_Okay come as my boyfriend."_

"_You know I can't do that, girl. Your mom would have a fit. Plus, how would we stay out of the magazines that way?"_

"_I'm going to go crazy without you." She said in the pout he always found hard to resist._

"_Don't give me that look. Girl, we have to do this. It'll only be six weeks." He hated not agreeing to go, but he knew things could get out of control if went with her._

_The next night was her album release party. Georgia told him that Shay wanted Jude to open for him, and that Jude was considering it. He couldn't believe his girlfriend was considering opening for her ex-boyfriend. He spotted her sitting with Sadie. "Were you going to tell me you were doing the Shay tour?"_

"_I didn't say I was." She defended._

"_But you're considering it." He stepped closer to her. "Is this because I won't go?"_

"_God, Tommy, it not always about you. Maybe this is about my career."_

"_The Shay tour is a bad choice. You're not ready."_

"_Is this about the tour or about Shay? Are you playing the jealous boyfriend card on me?"_

"_It's not fair to ask me that."_

"_Oh well, I'm asking."_

_Just then she was announced to take the stage. Tommy needed to clear his head, so as soon as she sang the opening line of Temporary Insanity, he left. He didn't care about Shay. He trusted Jude, and he trusted what they had together. However, he didn't trust Shay. He knew he couldn't leave things like that. He went to her house to wait on her. Sitting on the front steps, it seemed like forever before he saw Kwest's car pull up dropping the girls off._

"_Didn't think I'd find you here." She said walking up to him._

"_I couldn't leave things that way. Look, Jude, do what tour you feel ready for. Just come home to me in six weeks."_

"_Tommy, you're all I want. And I'm doing the club tour. Just me and my band then I'll come home to you."_

_In that moment he knew he'd have to wait to tell her because he wouldn't be able to let her go away for six weeks afterwards. It would be too hard, and he didn't want to do that to her. All he could do was pull her to him and kiss her lightly._

It was never easy to be away from her, that was why sometimes he held on so tight.

~Please Review~


	9. Chapter 9

Here's one more for you!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9

Jude woke up sometime in the night. She watched Tommy sleep trying to decide if she should ask him about pulling back. Tommy was her world, and had been for a long time. She remembered when she realized she had to be put him first and stop keeping him a secret from her friends.

_It had been a long six weeks on the road. Jude missed Tommy like crazy. They'd barely spoken the whole time because both were so busy. When she'd call him, he was always in the middle of something. She just wanted to get home to his arms._

_Her time away gave her a lot of time to put things in prospective. She realized as long as they did things by her parents rules, why keep a secret from everybody. She realized the secret could hurt people in the long run, like Jamie. He'd taken her to the airport when she was leaving for the tour. She knew Jamie had feeling for her. She and Tommy had talked about it. There at the airport Jamie was trying to ell her something, but Jude wouldn't let him. She told him to hold on to it, and they would talk when she got home. She had to figure out how to let him down nicely._

_Now she was stepping off the bus, and there was Jamie. Her heart almost fell because she wasn't ready, but then she saw her boyfriend. Tommy was right there, too. She went towards Jamie first._

"_Hi, best friend person."_

_Jamie hugged her. "I've missed you, Jude."_

"_You too." She pulled back and looked over at Tommy. She wasn't sure how to act, and could tell he felt the same._

_He smiled and she couldn't help but give him a hug. "I missed you." She whispered._

"_You too, girl." He said at the end of the hug._

"_Jude's mom threatened to harm me if I didn't bring her straight home. She's making out favorite J shaped pancakes."_

"_Well, I think she can manage T pancakes, too. I have tons of new stuff to show you." Jude wasn't ready to be alone with Jamie, and all she really wanted to do was kiss Tommy._

"_I'm gonna need to take a rain check, okay? But you and me we gotta talk. There some G Major drama." His tone really worried her. _

"_Post breakfast." Jamie interrupted. "Or Jude's mom's going to shave off my eye brows." She was starting to wish she'd let him down before the tour._

_Tommy nodded. "I'll call you later."_

_She watched as he walked to his car. "Jamie, wait just a minute." She said and ran after Tommy. "Tommy!"_

_He turned to look at her._

"_Are we okay? I didn't know mom was going to send him to pick me up."_

"_We're fine. I will call you later, I promise."_

_She just nodded and watched him get in his car and drive off. She couldn't believe she'd been away from him for six weeks and they were still apart. The drive to her house was quiet. She was lost in her daydreams of how she wished her reunion with Tommy had gone. She also hoped Jamie wouldn't bring up what he was trying to tell her when she was leaving._

"_So, Jude." Jamie started as he put the car in park._

"_She knew it was now or never. "Jamie, look, you're my best friend. And your friendship is very special to me."_

"_Jude, you're special to me, too. And I've been thinking…"_

_Before he could continue, she saw her mom and dad outside the house. Saved by the divorcing parents. "Mom. Dad." She said getting out and running to them._

"_Come on, let's eat so you can get to G Major. You have a meeting."_

"_I just want to sleep."_

"_I know, sweetie. But rock stars never sleep." Her dad said._

_This worked to Jude's advantage. She could stall a bit longer on the talk with Jamie._

_At G Major, her life was turned up side down. Darius had taken over, and nothing was the same. He wanted to change her, and make her do a cover instead of her own music at a party. There was another Instant Star competition going on. She felt like everything was falling around her. This wasn't the time to loose her best friend, but all she really wanted was her boyfriend. She hadn't seen him yet, but then again after Jamie showed up, it was hard to go look for him. _

_When she was leaving, she finally spotted him around the side of the building eating licorice. "Doing it alone in the alley? It's the first sign of addiction, Quincy."_

"_I can stop anytime I want. Come on, first taste is always free." He offered._

"_How can you be mainlining sugar right now when the sky is falling? You know, more to the point, how could you not even warn me?"_

"_Cause I wanted you to enjoy your first tour, and I didn't want to dump it all on you fresh off the bus."_

"_Okay but you could have explained the whole 'they want to replace me' contest."_

"_It's not replace, it's follow up. And I just thought you would have figured it out from watching TV or whatever."_

"_Tommy, I've been on a tour bus for weeks, okay? I've been watching the same copy of 'The Wall' over and over and over."_

"_I'm looking out for us okay? I know everything is weird, but it'll be okay."_

"_Right. Okay, well, I'm just going to go home and put on a dress your ex-wife has chosen and go sing a song that Darius has picked out that I'm going to be singing after the kids who are replacing me. So I say what?" She was so aggravated with everything. He wasn't helping considering he was acting like he was only her producer right now._

"_Listen I hate to sound like someone's dad, but sometimes we all gotta do things we don't wanna do. Its called playing ball, Jude, it's required from time to time, understand?"_

_Jude resolved right there. She knew what she had to do. She had to do what everybody wanted her to do, and she had to tell Jamie. "I guess." She said with a sigh._

_She couldn't read his expression as he walked away. She'd wanted to talk to him about what was going on, but he'd seemed to have forgotten their relationship all together. She didn't have time to worry about it._

_When she and Sadie got to the party later, Tommy was still playing the professional producer role. It made her want to stay as far away as possible. When Jamie showed up, she felt strangely comforted. Even though she didn't feel the same about him, he was still her best friend. He listened to her complaining about having to conform to what everyone wanted. He told her to go out there and be herself. He was supporting her, and she couldn't break his heart._

_On stage, she did what she was supposed to do. She and the band started 'Stupid Girl.' It felt wrong; so she stopped and had the guys start playing one of her new songs. Once it got going good, the plug was pulled._

_Tommy rushed the stage, pulled her off, and went through the crowd._

"_Whoa! What was that? What's his problem?" Jude was so confused. The crowd seemed to be getting into her song more than the cover._

"_What is his problem? Jude, what is your problem? Huh? Exactly how stupid are you?" She could almost see smoke coming from his ears._

"_What?"_

"_Jude, this take over was not good news. We could all get dropped tomorrow with out so much as a goodbye. I've been trying to save our jobs for weeks. Didn't you get that?"_

"_I just wanted everybody to hear my new stuff, Tommy, especially you." She defended._

"_Didn't you hear the part where I asked you to play ball? What do you think that meant, huh? That you're supposed to go out there tonight and pitch a diva fit?" She couldn't believe he, of all people, was saying this to her._

"_I just wanted to make it good." She was really lost._

"_It's not enough, Jude. Your record sales are in the toilet. They can't get you air time. This showcase? You needed it. 'WE 'needed it!"_

_Jude's world was crashing. "Oh my god."_

"_I can't even look at you right now." Tommy said and stormed away._

"_Tommy! Oh god." The realization of what she did was hitting her._

_After going home, she knew she should get some sleep and then she could work everything out. Sleep was not something she could do. She spent the whole night calling Tommy, and leaving him messages. She felt like she was losing him. All she could do was pace the house. Sadie tried to reassure her everything was going to be okay._

_Then things seemed to be getting even worse. Liam, the guy Darius hired to help him run G Major, showed up at her doorstep. He had contract release papers. She had to fix this. This wasn't just her career she was dealing with. Her actions also had an effect on Tommy. He could loose his job, too._

_She went to Darius, she groveled, and she told him she'd do what ever he wanted her to do. That got her stuck performing in a group number with the instant star finalists. She finally saw Tommy. He was still mad, and she didn't help things by saying she listened to Jamie._

_She was talking to one of the finalists when she saw Jamie leave his meeting with Liam. She noticed him roll his eyes at her and walk out the front door. She had to run after him. "Jamie, what happened?" _

"_Like you care. You couldn't give me the time of day and hour ago."_

"_Look I have to do this show or they are going to drop me."_

"_Well, I'm glad you got to keep your contract, Jude. I just got fired as SME's manager."_

"_Oh Jamie, I'm sorry."_

"_Save it, Jude. I needed you. If you had come to the meeting with me."_

_Something clicked in Jude's head. "Jamie, I'm not your girlfriend, you know that right?"_

_For a second she saw a hurt expression. "I thought when you didn't want to talk about it, was because we didn't have to. It was understood."_

"_Jamie, I'm with Tommy." She finally blurted out._

"_What?" She could tell he didn't know what to think._

"_I'm with Tommy." She repeated. "I have been for a while. You're my best friend, and your friendship means the world to me, but I'm in love with him."_

"_But." Was all he said._

"_Look Jamie, I'll see what I can do about getting your job back."_

"_You know what, Jude, forget it. Go have a nice life with Little Tommy Q." He said and walked away._

_She tried to stay focused. After the instant star finale, she would work on getting her friendship back. Because no matter how much Jamie's friendship meant, Tommy meant more now._

Some how she and Tommy, and she and Jamie made it through that whole ordeal. Now she wasn't sure if she and Jamie would ever be best friends again. But really Tommy was her best friend now.

~Please Review~


	10. Chapter 10

Here is the next chapter. The flashback goes along with the flashback in the last chapter. It is just Tommy's side. Hope everyone is enjoying the story. I love to read reviews, so when you are done let me know what you think.

disclaimer: i own nothing.

Chapter 10

Tommy woke up and saw her staring off into space. "What are you thinking about?"

"You're my best friend you know that?" She said in a small voice.

"And you're mine." He said before kissing her.

The kiss intensified quickly. Tommy fisted his hand in her hair holding her to him. He caressed her bottom lip begging for entrance. She accepted with a moan into his mouth. She could feel his rough hands up her shirt on her bare skin. She started unbuttoning his shirt quickly. She needed to feel his skin. Tommy pulled away long enough to get rid of his shirt and pull hers over her head, and attached his lips to the base of her throat. Everything about her was addictive to him; he just couldn't get enough of her. He felt her unbutton his jeans, and that made him realize where they were. This was not where he wanted to be when this happened, on the couch in her father's house.

"Jude, we can't do this here." He said when he finally found his voice.

"Why not? Yes we can. I want to and I'm ready Tommy."

"Girl, we are on the couch in your dad's house. This can't be where you want your first time, our first time."

"It doesn't matter where we are as long as its you." She really didn't want him to reject her.

"I'm going up to take a shower." He said pulling away to get up. He kissed her forehead and went up to the shower.

Tommy just let the water run over his face. He needed to get a grip. He'd just refused sex. Not just sex, but sex with the love of his life. He had gone insane. He let his mind drift to earlier in their relationship when she was coming home from her first tour.

_Summer had been hell for him. At first he just missed Jude like crazy. He couldn't remember why he didn't go with her. He didn't even have Kwest around because he went off with Sadie to Europe. He tried to throw himself into work, and that was when the unthinkable happened. Darius bought out G Major. Georgia had been barely making it financially. _

_Every time he would call Jude she was either half asleep or busy. It was the same for him, so he never really got to talk to her all summer. Not even to tell her about the take over. Not only was it Darius they'd have to see everyday, but his ex-wife. He knew that would go over real well with Jude._

_He was so excited the morning she was coming home. He couldn't wait to hug and kiss her, and just hold on to her. With all this change he wanted what he knew would never change, her._

_He got there early, and was approached by Portia. "Tom, we haven't got to talk a lot."_

"_Portia, it's best we don't."_

"_Hey come on. We both work for Darius now. We'll be seeing each other everyday. You know we were good together before…"_

_He cut her off before she could her name. "Don't ever say her name."_

"_You're still touchy I see."_

"_I don't have time for this. I'm going to meet Jude's bus."_

"_Oh her little boyfriend is out there already waiting on her." She said off handedly. _

_Tommy was taken back by this because last he checked he was the boyfriend. "Boyfriend?" _

"_Yeah, that tall kid that was at D's party with you two. He's been here for a while."_

_Tommy just shook his head and walked away. Sure enough Jamie was outside waiting on her. He was a little annoyed because he thought Jude was going to talk to him before she left._

"_Quincy, what are you doing here?" Jamie asked._

_It took all Tommy had not to make a smart remark. "Just thought I'd meet Jude." He said with a shrug. "There's a lot I need to talk to her about."_

"_She's been gone all summer. Let her see her family first."_

_Tommy's head was screaming. "I had planned on taking her home."_

"_You don't have to worry. Jude's mom sent me to pick her up."_

_That explains it, Tommy thought. This was Victoria's doing. He thought his head was going to explode. He was furious. Six long weeks he'd gone with out Jude. With out holding her, kissing her. She haunted his dreams, and on the day she was to come home, her mother sends pencil neck to pick her up. That was his job._

_The bus pulled up, and all his anger drifted away. She stepped off the bus and she was even more beautiful than he remembered. When she hugged him, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. She felt amazing in his arms even if it was short lived. _

_It annoyed him that Jamie was rushing her off so quickly. It was like Jamie thought he was her boyfriend. He'd hoped to have time to talk to her. He needed to explain what she was coming home to. It would just have to wait._

_He was five minutes from G Major on his way home when Darius called. "T, get your ass here now. I need you to work with the Instant Star contestants."_

_Darius was really the last person he ever wanted to deal with. This was making his life a living hell. He knew this was going to cause problem with his relationship with Jude. Georgia always looked the other way. There was no way Darius would do that. If he figured out about their relationship, they were doomed. Also Portia would probably cause problems. He did not need this at all._

_When he arrived back to G Major, Kwest was waiting for him. "Man, when did you get back?_

"_Yesterday. Had to get an earlier flight. Darius demanded me back to the studio."_

"_Yeah, this is not good man. Where's Sadie?"_

"_She should be home today. I told her thee was no reason to cut her trip a day short. Where's Jude. Wasn't she getting back today too?"_

"_Yeah, Andrews swept her away directly of the bus. Victoria sent him to pick her up."_

"_Ouch."_

"_Yeah, worst part is I haven't had a chance to tell her about the take over. I don't know if she even knows."_

_The day was too long for him. He thought Jude's first day home they would be in the studio together, but he and Kwest were stuck with contestants all day. He couldn't deal with his ex-wife and his ex-brother-in-law looking over his shoulder all the time. He needed fresh air and sugar. All he could think about was how this was going to affect him and Jude. They were going to have to be more careful. When they were around the studio or at industry events, they were gonna have to be strictly professional. He would not let Darius ruin her._

_When she rounded to corner, he put on his professional producer hat. He felt like an idiot telling her to play ball. When he really wanted her to show them who she really was. Getting ready for this party was horrible. He hated that he had to do this._

"_T, where's your girl?" Darius' voice boomed._

"_What do you mean?" Did Darius already know? Damn he felt like a scared teenager._

"_Quincy, your artist is late!"_

"_She'll be here, D." Tommy was able to relax a bit. This was insane._

_He finally saw her, and wow his heart almost stopped. She was gorgeous. "Oh my god." He said walking over to her and Sadie. "Wow and wow." He and Kwest were lucky guys. "Jude, your ten minutes late, okay? Fourth up, watch your tempo, got it?" He switched to produce mode._

"_Yeah." She looked lost and nervous, and all he wanted to do was sweep her away and protect her, but he couldn't._

"_You look great. Go be great. We'll talk it all over after, okay?"_

_She finally smiled. "Okay."_

"_I can't wait. I gotta go check some levels, later." This party better go by fast._

_He's always hated everything about parties Darius would throw, and this one was no different. When Jude took the stage, he felt relieved because it would be over soon. Then all hell let loose, Jude switched songs mid performance, and Darius demanded him to get her out of there._

_When he got home he felt horrible. He couldn't believe the things he said to Jude. But she was acting unreasonable. He sat on his couch with a six-pack. Every time his phone would ring he would look at Jude's picture and hit ignore. This was defiantly not the way he pictured her first day home._

_The next day, wasn't any better. Darius had him playing assistant boy. That meant running copies all day. Yeah that's what a producer was supposed to do. He knew Darius had threatened to drop Jude to get her to do what he wanted. He wasn't sure what all that entailed until he spotted Jude getting fitted for the group number._

_He was frustrated with that copier and didn't know what to do. "Portia, this machine, it wants something called toner." He was a musician not a copy machine person._

"_Tommy, wait." Jude came after him. He wasn't ready to face her yet. "Tommy, look don't be mad, okay?"_

"_No because I consider photo coping all day a promotion."_

"_No, I was nervous about doing a cover at the party. And I'm used to doing my own stuff, and Jamie told me it was a good i…"_

"_You listened to Jamie?"_

"_Yeah, maybe."_

_This just made him mad all over again. "Yeah cause teenage best friends always know what's best for music careers." What was she thinking?_

"_He knows me, Tom. The real me."_

_He just looked at her dumbfounded. She was supposed to realize he knew the real her, too._

"_So, it's true? My albums flopping?" She asked in a defeated tone._

"_Don't ask me. I'm not the one who knows about your career." He just waked away. He couldn't believe she listened to Jamie over him. He was the one looking out for her. He knew what this business was like. He was trying to keep their heads above water. Jamie was a kid with an idealistic view of the business._

_He knew what he felt for Jude, and knew he didn't want to loose her. He just needed to cool down. He watched her rehearse with the finalists. She was working hard to make things right, and he could tell. He watched as Jamie tried desperately to pull her away from what she was doing. She made eye contact with him, and he just waited to see what she would do. Honestly, this could make or break them. She stayed where she was. That was his girl._

_That night he caught her before she went on stage for the group number. When he saw her in the metallic suit with a blonde wig, he didn't know what to say. She looked silly, but oddly sexy._

"_Hey." She said looking up at him. "How's this? Does this make you happy?"_

"_It's exactly what I didn't want to happen. But I mean you put yourself right where Darius wanted you."_

"_I get it. It was just hard not knowing where we stood. I finally told Jamie today. He might never talk to me again."_

"_It's not going to be easy, Jude. It maybe even harder now, but I'm still here."_

"_Good. Well, now I've gotta go perform with semi-nude aliens." She left for the stage._

"_Cause nothing says legitimate singing contest like space prostitutes." He leaned against the wall and watched her as usual._

_When it was time for her solo number, he moved to the balcony where everyone from the label was sitting. He was nervous, but he knew she would pull it off. His girl was back. Darius was happy and that made him happy._

_The next morning he went to pick her up at her house. He was ready to get back into the studio with her. He knew she was taking the fall out with Jamie hard, and wanted to do what any good boyfriend would do, and keep her mind occupied._

_She came in the kitchen with freshly dyed blonde hair, and he was speechless. He loved her red hair, but the blonde was stunning on her. "Wow." Was all he could say especially in front of her mom. "Are you okay?"_

_She nodded. "I'm okay enough."_

"_Okay enough to go back into the studio?"_

"_Yeah, that sounds perfect."_

"_So, babe, you sleep yet?" He asked walking out of the house._

"_I'll sleep when I'm dead, Quincy."_

"_I know these last two days have been off the chart, but you stuck it out. You kinda killed. All summer long I've been dying because I didn't go with you. I missed you. I'm just gonna say it flat out. I love you." But she was already asleep in the passenger seat._

He continued to stand under the water hoping Jude would understand why tonight was not the right place or time. He wanted to make it special for her.

~Let me know what you think.~


	11. Chapter 11

Here you go!! I own nothing.

Chapter 11

Jude stayed on the couch staring at the ceiling. She felt completely rejected. It didn't matter to her where they were; she just wanted to be with him completely. The last couple of weeks she'd felt something different, deeper, when they kissed. She knew with out a doubt she was ready. She couldn't find a reason to wait until her birthday. She remembered the first time they shared three little words. It was around the time she'd met Patsy.

_They were having dinner at his place. The only place they could actually be alone. It had been a weird week, and Jude just wanted to forget it._

"_Hmm. Your hair is still soft." Tommy said running his hand through her hair while walking behind the couch._

"_I'm never playing for a crowd like that again."_

"_Got you ready to start the album didn't it?"_

"_I guess." She said not looking at him._

"_What's wrong?" He sat down beside her._

"_Everything! I mean, Darius is our boss now. And I was NOT on my game the day of the interview. I didn't impress him at all that afternoon. Speid and Jamie made fun of me. My dad is very disappointed in me for getting arrested."_

"_Yeah, I gotta agree with Stuart on that one. What were you thinking?"_

"_That I was pissed and I wanted to forget what everyone was saying about me. I wanted to show I wasn't prim and proper the way everyone thought I was."_

"_By under age drinking? How did you get served or even in the club?" His tone was disapproving._

"_Kat brought me a fake ID from New York. She thought I needed to get over my break up with Jamie."_

"_Huh. Break up?"_

"_Yeah." Jude said with a cringe. "Jamie gave her the impression we were together, and when she found out he and I were not talking she assumed we broke up. The fake ID even said Jude Andrews."_

_And that makes me feel better. That kid never stops."_

_Jude looked over at him and could tell what he was thinking. "Tommy don't worry about Jamie. I'm not letting him influence my decisions anymore. You saw me go against him in the meeting with my parents. Plus, I told Kat the truth. Now even she knows Jamie is delusional. Anyways where were you during my performance yesterday?" She gave him a knowing look._

"_I did a favor for your sister." His tone was a bit scared_

"_I know. Sadie asked my permission. That's why she was keeping an eye on the date. We didn't want this girl going too far."_

"_The things I do for you Harrison sisters."_

_Just then there was a knock at the door and their food was there. "Yay! I was starving." Jude said all excited._

"_When are you not?"_

"_Shut it, Quincy."_

_They sat in comfortable silence. She enjoyed that they could still do this. With everything at G Major up in the air, she was afraid that their dynamic would change. Bit no, they were still Jude and Tommy. They could sit in silence and still be completely connected._

_After dinner, they were eating strawberries in the floor. "Yum! I love your idea for dessert." She said taking a bite he was offering._

"_I thought you'd like it. And you know there's something I haven't done lately." He said moving closer to her._

"_And what would that be?"_

"_This." He said before kissing her. Jude was in heaven. She'd missed his lips like crazy. She accepted happily when he deepened the kiss. This is where she wanted to be the whole time she was on tour._

"_You know what you said earlier?" She said when he moved to her neck right below her ear._

"_Hmm?"_

"_The things you do for us Harrison sisters. I wish I had called you the other night to bail me out." She groaned when he stopped what he was doing._

"_I probably would have made you stay the rest of the night."_

_This shocked her. "Why?"_

"_To make sure you learned your lesson. Jude, I've made a lot of mistakes in my childhood. I care too much about you to let you make the same ones."_

_She could see a distant look in his eyes. She cradled the side of his face with one hand. "What kind of mistakes?" _

"_I got in to a lot of trouble as a kid is all." He was trying to look away, but she wouldn't let him._

"_Hey. It's me. You can tell me anything. I won't judge you."_

"_I would steal and get into fights. It landed me in Juvie. I'm not proud of it."_

"_How'd you get out? You were still a teenager when you joined Boyz Attack." _

"_I met a piano teacher. She taught me to play, and to focus my attention on making music and not trouble. That's when I tried out for Boyz Attack."_

"_Where was your family?" She could tell this was not something he wanted to talk about. "You don't have to tell me. Just know I'm here, and when you want to talk, I'll always listen."_

"_I know. It's just something I've tried to leave behind. My childhood, my family is not like yours." He got up and walked to the kitchen._

_Jude stayed in the floor for a minute before following him. "Tommy." Her voice was soft. "Let's leave it behind. If it makes you this sad, I don't want you to talk about it. I love you too much to put you through that." She wasn't even thinking about what she just said._

"_What did you just say?"_

"_Woah. That just came out. You don't have to say anything. Just forget it."_

"_Jude stop." He said cupping her face. "Have you ever wondered why I want to open up to you?"_

"_Why?" She stared into his eyes and saw something she'd never noticed, love._

"_I love you too." He replied before his lips crashed against hers._

_They stayed right there in the middle of the kitchen locked together until they both needed oxygen. "Really?" She asked resting her forehead against his._

"_Yeah. I've wanted to tell you for a while, but this is so new to me."_

"_Since it is new to me too, we will learn together."_

That was the night she felt like she was walking on air. Knowing he loved her made her happy. Now, she knew he still loved her. There was no doubt. She was ready to share that love in a whole new way. She heard the shower still running, so she went to change for bed.

When Tommy was done with his shower, he noticed her bedroom door was cracked and a lamp on. She was sitting on her bed writing in her journal. He just stood in the doorway watching her for a minute. He knew he was going to have to explain himself so she would feel totally rejected. "Working on a new song?" He asked making his presence known.

She looked up and wasn't sure she could form words. Him standing there with damp hair and no shirt on was a sight to see. She could stare at him for hours like that. "How was you shower?" She asked sarcastically after remembering why she was upset.

"Jude, don't" He said moving to sit on the bed.

"Don't what? Ask you why you don't want to sleep with me?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Great now you find this funny." Jude was feeling worse now.

"No, I don't find it funny. Do you really believe that? Jude, I'm so in love with you that I wanted it to be somewhere special. Girl, we've been together long enough for you to know that."

"But you've been pulling back for weeks now." She argued.

Tommy was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You don't tell me you love me in public. You barely acknowledge me unless we are working together in the studio."

"I've been trying to get Karma's album done so I can focus on yours." He said defending his actions. He'd been distracted by her upcoming birthday, but he never thought he was pulling back.

"Then what's with the dittos and you toos?"

"Maybe I've been a little distracted, but Jude, you know how I feel. At least I thought you did."

"Then you still want me?"

He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Of course I do. You're all I've wanted since I met you."

She gave a small smile before looking over at the clock. "Wow, it's two."

"Yeah, it's late."

"We should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah." He agreed, but sleep was the furthest thing from his mind. He leaned in to kiss her, and the kiss was instantly as deep as the one on the couch.

Jude laid back pulling Tommy down with her. She ran her fingers through his damp hair and down his bare back. His skin seemed to heat up everywhere her hands went. Tommy's hands inched under her shirt, and he was rewarded with the fact that she didn't have on a bra. He lightly flicked her right nipple, making her moan into his mouth. She pulled back to pull her shirt off giving him better access. Tommy kissed her lips, down her jaw line, and the sensitive spot under her ear. Jude felt like she was floating as his lips moved down her body.

"God you're so beautiful." He said in between kisses. He didn't want to leave a spot of skin untouched. Everything about her was perfect to him. He kissed the valley between her breasts, kneading one then showering the other one with kisses. One hand continuously ran up and down one of her legs that was bent up cradling his waist. His tongue grazed her nipple making her arch into him. Her other leg was tangled with his as her foot ran up and down his pajama clad calf. "You like that?" He huskily asked into her ear as his hands ran feather light down her sides.

"Uh huh." Jude replied as his hands reach the waistband on her pajama shorts. She could feel how aroused he was. She kissed his chest, each peck lightly. Grazed his nipples lightly with her nails before running her hands down his toned stomach and pulling the tie on his pajamas.

"I want you, Jude." He said burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"I want you too." She said sliding her hand under the waistband and running down his length.

"Hold on." Tommy said suddenly pulling back. "Just on second." He got up and went over to where he put his jeans before his shower. Opening his wallet he was disappointed to not find what he was looking for. "Damn it!" He cursed.

"What?" She asked sitting up and looking at him.

"I don't have a condom." The mood was gone.

Jude's world crashed back to reality. "Oh." Of course he didn't have a condom. When you're not having sex, why carry one? "I guess tonight really wasn't the night." She said putting her shirt back on.

Tommy felt stupid. For years he'd always carried a condom in his wallet. Then when he started dating Jude and she wanted to wait, he stopped. He didn't want her to find it and think anything about it. "I'm so sorry, babe."

"Don't. Just come to bed. We should get a few hours of sleep." She crawled under the covers and patted the other side for him to join her.

"You go on to sleep. I'll be back." He said excusing him self quickly. Hello second cold shower of the night.

When he got back to the room he figured Jude was asleep. He crawled in and pulled her to him. She rolled over to face him. "I love you, and when the time is right." He said moving her hair off her forehead.

"I know. I love you, too. Good night." She said relaxing into his embrace.

Tommy just held her listening to her breath. When he knew she was asleep, he was able to close his eyes and drift off himself.

~Let me know what you think.~


	12. Chapter 12

KrazyKarah, I am glad you like it.

theonlywhitegirl, sorry some of my chapters end making you wonder what's gonna happen next. Keep reading and I will try to alway get a new chapter up quickly.

I own nothing

Chapter 12

Jude woke up before Tommy. She slipped out of his arms and went to the bathroom. She slashed water on her face trying to remember if last night really happened.

"Yes it happened, and I'm an idiot." Tommy's voice startled her.

"Hum or yodel when you walk." She said bracing herself against the counter.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He said wrapping his arms around her from behind.

In that moment somehow she was able to find the humor in the situation. "Put that thing away." She said trying her best not to laugh.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly and letting go of her.

"I'm going to make coffee. You do what you gotta do." She left laughing.

Tommy just shook his head with a chuckle. He was a grown man, but she still made him feel like a teenager.

"_You know what we should do?" He said feeding her a strawberry. They'd just said 'I love you' for the first time, and he felt like he could take on the world._

"_What?"_

_"They are starting the late night carnival down by the pier. We should go check it out one night._

"_Carnival? In public?"_

"_Sure why not? It starts at nine every night. We could get Sadie and Kwest to come along. Live dangerously and make out on the top of the Ferris wheel." He felt like he was reliving his teenage years._

"_I'll repeat, in public?"_

"_I know what you are thinking, but no one from G Major will be there, and there's usually a crowd that we could get lost in. We could be normal for a night."_

"_That's sweet, Tommy, but do you know how many teenage girls will be there? Especially the weekend before school starts. Maybe we can go to a midnight movie or something."_

"_Wouldn't that break curfew?"_

"_Yeah, but mom's never home. I'm not sure where she's been running off to lately."_

"_I guess we could do something like that. I didn't think about all the teenage girls at the pier."_

"_You know me always looking out for ya."_

_"So, why don't we make plans for Friday night?"_

"_Okay."_

_Friday, Tommy was nervous. Tommy Q didn't do nervous. It wasn't like they'd never gone on a date. They'd been to the coffee house a few times, but tonight was different. He's set up a semi romantic dinner before the movie. He wanted them both to have a nice night because he wasn't sure when they'd get another one. Before he left his apartment, he checked his wallet making sure he didn't need to go by the ATM. He pulled out a little foil package. "I won't need that for a while." He said out loud to himself and threw it the trash. He wanted to make sure Jude knew how he felt about her. There would be no pushing, or finding it somewhere else. Jude was all he wanted._

_He drove by making sure her mom's car wasn't home first, before picking her up. "Wow!" He said when she got in the car._

"_Really?"_

"_Where did you get that dress?" Other than G Major event lately, she didn't wear dresses._

"_It's Sadie's. She was all excited."_

"_What about you?"_

"_Of course." She said with a smile. "Anything to spend extra time with you."_

_He smiled reaching for her hand. "So, your mom?"_

"_MIA again. Sadie doesn't know what's going on either."_

"_I'm sure it's nothing bad." He said as he turned going toward their destination._

"_Where are we going?"_

"_It's a surprise."_

"_I don't like surprises. Why are we going toward G Major?"_

"_Living dangerously." Tommy said parking the car._

"_Tommy, we can get caught."_

_Tommy just winked at her. "Don't worry. D is in San Francisco for the weekend. And my helpers won't let us get caught."_

_Tommy led them to the top of the parking garage where he let her drive his Viper on her sixteenth birthday. There was a small round table with two plates and a candle in the middle. There was a note that said, "Have fun. Were on the lookout. S and K."_

"_Wow" Jude seemed speechless. "You did all this for me?"_

"_Of course, I love you and I want you to know it every day."_

_As they sat and ate, Tommy couldn't take his eyes off her. "What?" She asked lightly blushing._

"_Remind me to thank Sadie. You look absolutely beautiful tonight." She looked down at her plate, and he couldn't help but wonder what was on her mind. "What are you thinking, Big Eyes?"_

"_I'm still getting used to your complements." She said shyly._

_He loved that she wasn't like all the other girls from his past. She was modest, and wanted to be with him for who he really was. Her being young didn't even matter anymore. "Well, get used to them because I'm going anywhere any time soon."_

"_Good." She gave him a bright smile._

_At the theater they were the only ones there. Tommy hadn't rented it out, but it was the midnight show. He wasn't worried about running about running into anybody._

_He was sure the movie was good, but he watched her most of the time. When she would laugh her whole face would light up and her eyes would squint. _

"_You're not watching the movie." She said leaning over on his shoulder._

"_What I'm watching is so much better." He replied lifting her chin so they were looking at each other. "You know life is about to get really crazy."_

"_I know. And I also know we might not get to see each other a whole lot."_

"_We'll do what we can." He said before kissing her. The kiss was simple and sweet, but grew as they shifted in their seats. Tommy was definitely acting like a teenager._

_She kept giggling on the drive home. "What's so funny?"_

"_Nothing." She answered in a tone that made him really want to know. "It's silly. Don't worry about it." She continued._

"_Come on I want to know the joke."_

"_It's not a joke. It's just, I've never been the girl to care, but I made out with Little Tommy Q in the back of a movie theater. Do you know how many girls would love to be in my place?"_

_He couldn't help but laugh, too. She wasn't one to care, and he knew this. She'd called him lame the first day they met. "Well, you're the only girl I want there."_

"_Good answer. I had a great time tonight."_

"_I did too. Maybe we can find times to sneak away." He was really dreading going back to work the next week. If he could stay in that moment with her forever he would. _

"_I better go in. Don't know when mom might get home." She said as they were sitting in front of her house. _

"_I call you tomorrow."_

"_You better."_

He didn't mind acting like a teenager with her, because he knew she was the one he wanted to grow old with. "Shower's free for you." He said walking into the kitchen.

"Okay, coffee is ready." She said with a bright smile.

"Are you still making fun of me?"

"No, I'm just wondering something."

"What?"

"What twenty-five year old male doesn't carry a condom in their wallet?"

He just gave her a look. "Okay. I'm going to get ready for work."

~Enjoy and review.~


	13. Chapter 13

Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 13

When they arrived at G Major, this first thing they heard was Darius' voice booming. "T, Jude, my office now."

"It took Jude back to when Darius was trying to get her to take four months off before her second album.

_Jude couldn't even listen to the teacher in her last class. She had a song in her head and couldn't wait to get to Tommy. She barely acknowledged Spied as she was rushing out of school. She went straight to where she knew he'd be when she got to G Major._

"_I gotta start locking that door." He said when she threw him some red licorice._

"_I'd probably just kick it down."_

"_They're waiting for you."_

"_They?"_

"_Darius and Liam. I don't know what it's about. I've been in here with Mason all day."_

"_Wish me luck."_

_The meeting was pretty much Jude's worst nightmare. They wanted to put her on the backburner, and take four to five months off then they'd book her in the for the second album. Darius felt like people didn't take her seriously and felt like time off would hype her up. She felt like she was being pushed out of G Major._

_She went back to Tommy after the meeting. She felt like she was going to cry. "I know you're busy, but can I have a minute?"_

"_Mason, take a fifteen minute break. What's wrong?"_

"_They want me to take four to five months off. Darius is all like in with the new and out with the old."_

"_He's your manager and he wants you to put you on the back burner?"_

"_Yeah, Looks like. Now I have to go home and suffer through "family" dinner with my dysfunctional family. You gonna be here late?"_

"_Yeah. I have a meeting with them after I finish up with Mason."_

"_Call me tonight?"_

"_Of Course."_

_Family dinner was a disaster from the beginning. Her mother invited her divorce lawyer, and her parents were fighting over who should be in charge of Jude's money. Listening to them argue, Jude's crazy mind came up with the perfect idea. She would release a bootleg. She called Tommy, but only got his voice mail. "Spied, meet me at G Major." She needed someone to back her up when she pitched her idea to Darius. _

_She thought the fighting would stop with the divorce, but she was wrong. Her parents were still arguing when she got home. The only good part of her day was Darius agreeing to let her have three hours of studio time to record one song. The bad part was Liam would only give her seven am the next morning. At least she had her music to tone out the argument going on inside the house. She waited for Tommy to call, but he never did. She felt like the world was working against her._

_The next morning, Tommy was already there waiting on her when she got to the studio. "Last time I saw Saturday morning it was still Friday night. You better have something good, Harrison."_

"_Yeah I do. I have two parents tearing each other apart, a four month hiatus, and now that you're corporate king of all music everywhere, no boyfriend. The world is working against me." _

"_It's a promotion. That is what my meeting with them was about. You've got me here now. What do you want to do?"_

"_Scream."_

"_Booths sound proof."_

_Jude started screaming and even got Tommy to join in. It finally felt like them again. She just hoped they could pull something off because she had to record. It was going to be the only way to spend time with Tommy._

_Three hours went by and nothing was accomplished. Liam came in and got into an argument with Tommy. Jude went to Liam hoping to smooth things over, but only left more pissed off. _

"_Anything I need to know before I go in there?" She knew Tommy wanted to help._

"_Don't. It won't help if you spew anymore testosterone and pee all over each other." She didn't think he should jeopardize his job anymore than he had to._

"_Dude, for real?" Spied asked, and they just looked at him._

"_What are you gonna do then?"_

"_Call MTV because this girl is joining the real world and getting herself a crib." She decided that's what she needed a place to chill out, write music, and jam with her band._

_All the places she found in the paper were expensive, and she wasn't able to make her dad see why she needed a place. So, when Spied found a place with reasonable rent, Jude went to her mom for the money. There for making Victoria in charge of her trust._

"_So, I found a place. Well, really Spied did." Jude told Tommy that night on the phone._

"_Really. That was quick."_

"_Yeah, he's already sending word out that we are going to jam tomorrow. But I'm not sure if I like what I did though."_

"_And that would be?"_

"_I made mom in charge of my money. She agreed to give me rent money. Dad told me to use the basement at home."_

"_Your dad will understand and come around. I know you said they were fighting again."_

_"Yeah, mom invited her divorce lawyer to family dinner. Then ambushed dad about my trust. So, dad might not come around that soon. I just needed to do something. If I can't go to G Major everyday, I need somewhere to go."_

"_I understand. I have an idea. Why don't we record the bootleg tomorrow."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. Look I am sorry I didn't call you last night. Darius had me…"_

"_Tommy, don't. You don't have to explain anything to me. I don't want to be that kind of girlfriend. I trust you."_

"_Good, and I don't want to do anything to break that trust. So, I'll see you tomorrow?"_

"_Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. I should get some sleep. I didn't get much last night."_

"_Okay, goodnight." _

"_Hey, Tommy." She said before he could hang up._

"_Yeah, girl?"_

"_I love you."_

_She heard him chuckle. "I love you, too."_

_The next day was a blast. Jude had forgotten how fun it was just to jam and let loose with her band. Spied and the boys were really taking care of her. They had invited a crowd of people. She was enjoying it all, but when Tommy got there, she had a smile permanently on her face._

"_It's a nice space. I like it." Tommy told her after everyone was gone._

"_Yeah. It feels right... Like a place where anything can happen." _

"_You know, you're a full-fledged artist now. You fight hard, and pretty soon you won't need anyone else."_

"_I wouldn't have thought about doing the bootleg here. That was your idea."_

"_We got a lot more in us, huh?"_

_Jude nodded._

"_You know this bootleg sounds way better than it ever could have sound in the studio."_

"_You think?"_

"_Yeah. We'll get this online, get it to Darius, and get the two of us back in the studio soon."_

"_But until then if the door here is ever locked."_

"_I'll just kick it down."_

_Jude couldn't help but hug him. They were actually alone. "Did you see the couch?"_

"_Yeah."_

_She looked down and then back at him, he was just smiling. "You want to go try it out?"_

"_Thought you'd never ask." He smirked as they headed back inside._

Jude collapsed into the chair in Tommy's office. "How could he do this?" They'd just left the meeting with Darius.

"He's the boss."

"I know but do you see what he is doing? He gives us opposite schedules so we don't get to see each other. He's still trying to keep us apart."

"Girl, it's just a week. It won't be a problem."

Jude couldn't help but whine. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too. Look on the bright side, you'll be here with all your friends, and I will be in Montreal with Karma. I might loose my mind. Speaking of I need to get to studio B to meet with her."

"Okay. I love you." She gave a pout that made Tommy laugh.

"I love you too, girl. More than you'll ever know." He said before kissing her. It was meant to be a sweet soft kiss, but with what happened the night before, and with the fact they were going to be separated for a week, the kiss was full of passion.

"Okay you need to get to work." She said pulling back.

"Yep. While I'm gone, work on the presentation for your album, and we'll pitch Darius when I get back."

"Okay." She smiled as he walked out of his office. She was going to miss him like crazy.

"Hey little sis. Why do you look all dreamy?" Sadie asked walking in the room.

"Huh?"

"You looked like you were somewhere else."

"Oh yeah I was somewhere where Darius doesn't exist."

"Why? What did he do now?"

"He booked me a show every night for the next week around town."

"Oh that evil manager of yours." Sadie said sarcastically.

"And is sending Tommy to Montreal with Karma for the next week."

"Ouch, that is evil."

"It's like he is still trying to keep us apart."

Sadie could see something different in Jude, but she couldn't figure out what it was. "Jude, did something happen between you and Tom?"

"No. Why do you ask?" Jude wasn't lying, nothing had really happened.

"Are you sure? You don't have to lie. You're practically eighteen."

Jude knew she had to talk to someone. "I'm not lying. Nothing really happened. Last night Tommy came over after working with Karma. We ate, watched some TV, and went to sleep on the couch. But we woke up, and things got a little heated, but he pulled way and went upstairs to take a shower."

"Thank god. I would have never sat on that couch again. But that sounds just like any other night. What happened different last night?"

"After his shower, I was in my room, and we talked. He told me he wasn't pulling back from me. Then we were so close, Sades."

"But what?"

"Well, he sort of didn't have…. He didn't have protection."

"Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry sweetie. And you were hoping.."

Jude finished her thought. "I was hoping that he and I would have a chance to finish what we started, but he leaves this afternoon for Montreal for a week."

Sadie gave Jude an encouraging hug. "It's only a week, Sweetie."

~Please Review~


	14. Chapter 14

**For your reading pleasure. Sorry again my chapters seem to end making you want more. Just stay tuned and I will post as soon as I can.**

Chapter 14

Tommy started thinking there wasn't enough aspirin in the world to work with Karma. She'd been complaining non-stop since he told her they were leaving for Montreal. "Karma, why don't you go home, pack, and meet me back here." He just buried his face in his hands when she was finally gone.

"You look like you could use some sleep." Kwest said walking in.

"Yeah. Sort of a long night." He said getting up and pacing the room.

"T, what's up?"

"I gotta go to Montreal for a week with Karma."

"That sucks, but why do you seem like it's the end of the world?"

"I don't want to leave Jude. And Darius booked her a different show every night that I am gone."

"That sounds like D. But did something happen between you two? I mean you've never acted like this when you had to leave for a few days."

"No nothing happened because I'm an idiot."

"What did you do?" Kwest was very protective over Jude. Even though Tommy was his best friend, Jude was like a sister.

"It's more like what I didn't do, or what I quit doing."

Kwest was confused. "T, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense."

"Okay, after I started dating Jude, she told me she wanted to wait until she was older."

"Right. I know all this."

"Well, last night she tells me she's ready."

"Wow. You didn't reject her did you?"

"No, I mean yes and no. At first I did because we were on the couch in the living room."

"Thank god, Sadie would have never sat on that couch again."

"Will you listen?" Tommy said frustrated.

"Continue."

"Later, after a cold shower, we were upstairs and we talked. I quit over thinking it. She's old enough to make her own decisions on this. Who am I to tell her she'd not ready?"

"So what happened?"

"I took two cold showers last night."

"So when it came to it, she wasn't ready?" Kwest still felt confused.

"No, I'm the idiot that quit carrying a condom my wallet."

"Oh. Damn."

"Yeah, now I have to go home and pack to leave for a week."

"At least it's just a week." Kwest said behind him.

"Hey, are you going home to pack?" Jude said approaching him.

"Yeah. I already sent Karma home. You want to come home with me?" He asked in a hopeful tone.

"I better not. I have get the band and rehearse."

"Call me after your show?"

"Of course." She said with a huge smile.

"I love you, and I'll see you in a week." He said before kissing her cheek.

"I love you, too."

Tommy hated when he had to play businessman. He was a producer, and he wished that was all he had to do. But no, Darius was sending him to Montreal to present Karma to investors. He was never good with investors. He remembered when he thought he could do better than Liam with them.

_Everything at G Major was falling into place since Darius taking over. Tommy was trying to get used to his new VP position. Jude's bootleg was doing well, so Darius was back to booking things for her. She even had a song in a movie that was getting ready to premier. He was happy his girl was on top again. He was trying to figure out the best way he could sit by her at the premier. He just had to suffer through G Major business meeting first. Liam was about to put him to sleep._

"_Ah Miss Harrison." Liam said as Sadie was approaching. "Looking to invest in G Major?"_

"_Actually I was thinking of parking my millions somewhere more glamorous and I need to ask you a favor." She said pointing at Tommy._

"_Thank you. This is dull." He said standing up. _

"_And you think you can do better?" Liam asked snidely. _

"_Record label investors need something with more sizzle. I think Darius would say the same thing."_

"_I think Tommy's right." Sadie added._

"_Then why doesn't Mr. Quincy kick off tonight's presentation with a little A&R report?"_

"_I will."_

"_Alright then." Liam walked away._

"_What kind of favor do you need, Sadie?"_

"_Tomorrow night is Jude's premier."_

"_Yeah."_

_"Kwest has to work. Would you be my date since you can't be someone else's date?"_

"_I think I can do that."_

"_Thank you, you're the best, or almost the best." She said and skipped off._

_He worked on his report the rest of the day. He knew Jude was in media training. How hard could this be? When it was time for the meeting he was hit with a blast from the past. _

"_Tommy!"_

"_Chas, man"_

"_We missed you on the Boyz Attack reunion tour, good times."_

"_What can I say? My baggy white suite was at the cleaners all summer."_

"_You know I'm not in town long, my friend. We gotta go party with Bruno, kick it old school, you hear?"_

_Tommy looked back at the meeting that was about to start. Did he really want to be a businessman or his old self? "I appreciate the invite, but duty calls." Maybe he didn't like being a business, but he also knew he shouldn't go out a party like he used to either. He had Jude now. "Life as a honest man."_

"_Where is the girl that turned you on to this businessman routine?" Chas asked. _

_And though it wasn't for Jude, in a way it was. He wanted to prove he'd changed. "Thanks for stopping by." Chas waved and was gone._

_The presentation was a disaster. The investors didn't care about glitz and glamour. They weren't impressed with anything he thought they would be. They really just wanted facts and figures. He wished he'd never questions Liam. Obviously, Liam had more than a seventh grade education and talk to these men._

_He went straight home after the meeting. He wanted to forget the day ever happened. He couldn't even remember why he thought he could do it. He was about music, and everybody else could deal with the business. The worst part was it wasn't even his girlfriend that convinced him to do this. It was her sister._

_The next night instead of picking Sadie up and going to the premier, where he knew he should be, he went and met Chas and Bruno. He hadn't meant to drink as much as he did. Even though he had a pocket full of phone numbers, all he wanted was Jude. He hadn't seen her in a couple of days, so he went to her house after leaving the bar._

"_She's not home." Sadie said opening the door._

"_Can I wait for her?"_

"_Come on in."_

_He collapsed on the couch and pretty much passed out. He didn't know how long he'd been there when he felt eyes on him. He peeled his eyes open and saw Jude looking at him._

"_Tommy, what are you doing here? And where were you tonight?" She didn't look mad she just looked concerned._

"_I'm stupid, Jude."_

"_For missing my premier and getting this drunk, yeah."_

"_No, you don't understand, I'm stupid. They expel me from school for fighting, and I never went back."_

"_You quit school?"_

"_Grade seven."_

"_Tommy what's all this about?"_

"_I convinced myself that with this VP position I could actually be a businessman. And your sister agreed with my idea. Then I blew a presentation."_

"_Tommy, babe, you're a producer, a wonderful producer. Let Liam take care of the business. That's why Darius named two VP's."_

"_I'm sorry I missed your big night."_

"_That's okay. I sat covering my ears and eyes the whole time. I took my dad. I think he and I are going to be okay."_

"_That's good, but why did you look so upset?"_

"_Let's just say a lot has happened over the last couple of days."_

"_Want to talk about it?"_

_She shook her head. "You need to sleep this off. Make sure you are gone before my mom gets up. I'm going to bed."_

_He nodded and kissed her forehead. He was asleep again before he knew it._

He didn't try his hand at business again. Hopefully this week Karma's voice and music would do most of the talking, so he wouldn't have to.

"How are your shows going?" Tommy asked over the phone. He'd been gone two days, and missed her like crazy.

"Not the same without you back stage."

"I'll be home before you know it."

"I just miss you, and feel bad you are stuck with Karma."

"You know she's not that bad. She keeps running of on her cell phone."

"So you have some peace and quiet?"

"Yeah. I better get some sleep. We have an early meeting in the morning."

"I gotta be up early, too. I love you."

"Love you, too, girl."

**~Please Review~**


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 15

Jude put her phone in her pocket and started gathering her things. She'd gone to the rehearsal space after her show. Every night when she would go to bed, all she would think about was that last night with Tommy.

Spied walked in on his phone and didn't even see her. Jude stood there listening to him talk all mushy on the phone. Sounded like her best bud had a girlfriend. She decided to slip out unnoticed. No need to embarrass him. She remembered when Spied had a crush on her.

_All of G Major was a buzz about helping one of Darius' favorite Charities. Jude and the band were performing on a talk show to promote it. The interviewer asked her about her private life, and she joked around with the guys. She loved her band, but they were like brothers to her. Spied was acting weird, but she didn't think much about it because she caught Tommy out of the corner of her eye. It would be great to tell the truth, but she knew she couldn't._

"_So, what are you doing? You want me to help with your jacket? Oh, I made this for your car." They'd just got back to G Major from the interview. Spied gave her an air freshener for her car with a picture of him on it. She thought it was odd but cute._

"_Hey Spied, Monica's here." Wally called out._

"_Wally's cousin." He explained. "We're just going bowling. It's not a…"_

"_You know your date." Kyle added._

"_Well, I guess you better go." She watched him walk away._

"_What was that?" Tommy asked when the guys were gone._

"_They're going bowling." Jude shrugged._

"_Jude, he made you an air freshener."_

"_Yeah. It's for my car. I thought it was sweet." She was so wrapped up with her feelings for Tommy that she never noticed when other guys liked her._

"_Okay."_

"_So, what are you doing with your jacket?"_

"_Well, I was hoping …"_

"_Nope. I have my own to do."_

"_Fine. I will ask Portia."_

"_You do that."_

_The next day, she and Spied were at the rehearsal space working on a song. "I know you miss Kat, and you probably miss Jamie."_

"_Yeah, well I've been pushing people away lately." Which was true because she spent all her spare time with Tommy._

"_I'm still here." He told her._

"_That's good." She was glad she wasn't loosing all her friends._

"_I want to tell you something." He said but they were interrupted by Kyle and Wally._

_After that day, Spied wasn't acting the same. When they had a press conference and rehearsal for the auction, he started a fight with the guys. Her band was falling apart, and she didn't know why._

"_I don't know what Spied's problem is." Jude huffed sitting down beside Tommy. They were backstage at the auction and he hadn't shown up yet._

_"You're clueless." Tommy said laughing._

"_What is that supposed to mean? What's so funny Quincy?"_

"_Does your band know about us?"_

_She shrugged. "I always figured they did. Why?"_

"_Spied has a crush on you."_

"_No, you think?"_

"_Think about it. He seemed jealous when you joked about being with Wally. He made you an air freshener for your car. He didn't want you to know he had a date."_

"_Not again." He gave a frustrated sigh. "It's gonna be like Jamie all over again."_

"_Just talk to him."_

_She knew exactly where to find him. "Spied, I think we need to talk." Jude said walking into the rehearsal space._

"_What do you want, Harrison? Aren't you supposed to be walking a runway with Wally?"_

"_I want you to talk to me. Kyle worked really hard on this jacket, and Wally wants to grow up to be exactly like you. The band needs you."_

"_You mean you need me."_

"_Only because it is too late to change the t-shirts to Jude's Mind Explosion."_

"_How can you be so open in your music, but so closed off to this? What are you scared of?"_

"_I'm scared of loosing another friend. Jamie decided he couldn't handle my life. Kat felt like I wanted to constantly out shine her. I'm running low here."_

"_I'm not going anywhere."_

"_Spied, I need your friendship. I need you in the band because you calm my nerves. You're a great guitar player."_

"_Why can't you see more?"_

"_Because I have a boyfriend."_

"_Dude, the only guys you are ever around are me, Kyle, Wally, and Quincy. They only way you have a boyfriend is if Lord Squinty Frown…" He stopped talking._

_Jude just gave him a look. "I'm sorry I haven't said anything before. We can't exactly go public, but I just figured you guys knew. You're like my brother. You're Bart to my Lisa. You're my best bud. Can you say something, please?"_

"_You and Quincy? How did I not see this?"_

"_Because we have to keep a low profile."_

"_Wow, how long?"_

"_Since right before you guys became my band."_

"_Do you love him?"_

_That's when Jude knew she wasn't going to loose his friendship. "Yeah, I do."_

She and Spied have been best buds ever since. He stuck by her, and tried to understand her relationship with Tommy. Now she wished she knew who he was on the phone with.

There was only one good thing about being in Montreal. Tommy needed to talk to a certain person, and that person was on the other side of the hotel room door he was standing in front of. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans before knocking.

"Tom, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, Mr. Harrison. I'm in town on G Major business. I was hoping I could talk to you."

"How many times have I told you to call me Stuart? Come on in."

"Thanks, Stuart."

**I'm sorry for leaving you hanging that is just the best place to end this chapter. Ipromise stay tuned and it all unfolds.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's the next chapter. I don't own anything.**

Chapter 16

Tommy walked back to his hotel with a smile on his face. Jude's birthday was going to be the best. He just needed to get home and finish everything. Only a few more days, and he couldn't wait until he was back with his girl.

Right on cue his cell phone rang. "I was just thinking about you."

"You better always be thinking about me, Quincy."

"I am. What's up?"

"Sitting in my dressing room wishing you were here. How was your meeting?"

"They seemed impressed with Karma's talent."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Now I think I will go back to my hotel and relax in the hot tub."

"Oh I'm jealous."

"I seem to remember a hot tub in our past."

"Yeah, that wasn't our finest hour."

"No, it wasn't."

_The last place Jude ever thought she'd be was at a musical that Sadie was in. It wasn't a secret that Sadie did not have the voice in the family. But it was something she wanted to do. It was cute watching Kwest so proud of her. Tommy had promised to come, but there had been no sign of him. She knew he'd been working a lot of overtime. This VP position was weighing him down._

"_Did I miss much?" Tommy asked sliding into his seat as the last line of the show was sung._

"_Yeah, like the whole thing." Jude said under her breath. Sure Tommy wasn't obligated to support Sadie, but Jude had really wanted him there._

_Backstage she watched the way Kwest was with Sadie. It made her jealous because she and Tommy couldn't be like that in public. "So, are you giving me a ride home?" She asked as everyone was leaving._

_Tommy felt horrible. He'd promised Jude he'd be at the show, just so they could spend sometime together. But he ended up having to work later than expected. "I have to get back to work. Tomorrow night you and me though."_

"_Don't forget my mom's birthday is coming up. Sadie and I are planning a party."_

"_I know. Don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"_Jude, you coming?" Portia called out to her. _

"_Yeah." She gave Tommy one more look before she followed them._

_Jude and Sadie were so excited about their mom's birthday. They were going all out for the surprise party they were planning. "So, is Tommy coming?" Sadie asked._

"_Said he was, we'll see. Hopefully work can wait one night."_

"_Yeah, Kwest has been working a lot too."_

"_Anyway this party is going to be the best."_

_At G Major, Spied was helping Jude with a new song. "Sounds good."_

"_Okay I get my girl now." Tommy said from the doorway._

"_I thought we still had a half hour?" She'd been trying to make the song perfect before Tommy heard it._

"_When are you not eager to get back in the studio?"_

"_Never, I'm with you."_

"_What are you working on?" He asked taking the stool beside her._

"_Just a classic Dolly Parton-esque ditty about watching helplessly while love falls apart, ya'll."_

"_Dolly, huh?" Tommy knew he'd been like the non-existent boyfriend lately, but he didn't think they were falling apart. "Jude, I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. It's just…"_

"_I know."_

_Tommy looked around making sure they were alone. He turned her stool where she was facing him. He ran his hands up her outer thighs. "I promise when things slow down around here."_

_She knew what that meant. "You're canceling dinner again?"_

"_Liam's booked the weekend off, so I'm in charge. I'll be here all night probably."_

"_Well you better be at my mom's birthday tomorrow. I miss you."_

"_I already promised." He said before leaning forward and kissing her lips lightly._

"_Let's get to work." She said with a shy smile. He'd never shown affection for her when they were in the studio._

_He felt like he couldn't breath. If he had to pull one more all nighter he was going to pull his hair out. He went to Kwest hoping he could help. "I'm frying on all this overtime. I'm gonna need you to stay tonight."_

"_Can't my cousin Teesha's in town."_

"_Model cousin?" Models were always Tommy's weakness._

"_Yeah, I had to cancel plans with Sadie to take her and a few friends around town as a favor to my aunt."_

"_That sounds more like a job for Tommy and his on going model addiction. Or are you on some kind of patch for that now?" Portia approached them._

_Tommy looked back at Kwest. "If you're done early, I'll be here."_

"_You know I thought you'd changed." Portia said before he could leave the room._

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Your sixteen year old artist? Tommy what are you doing? I saw you two earlier."_

"_That is none of your business." Tommy said and stormed away._

_G Major was the last place Tommy wanted to be at a quarter to midnight. He imagined his girl across town tucked into her bed peacefully sleeping. He wished her was with her, wrapped around her. He heard noise coming from the lobby, and walked out to find Kwest with a bunch of girls._

_The next morning Jude was woke up by a delivery guy that was there to early. She and Sadie had to go to G Major to hide what was delivered. They walked in and there were girls sleeping everywhere. "It's like a model bomb went off." Jude said._

"_At least Tommy and Kwest are out of range."_

"_And the all look starving hungry. So, let's do what we need to do before they wake up and eat our donuts."_

_Jude went to get what they came for and heard yelling. "You're cheating on me?" Sadie's voice rang out._

"_Sadie, what's going on?" Jude asked approaching them._

"_Kwest here was using Tommy's office for privacy. I caught him."_

"_Sadie, what are you talking about?"_

"_He's totally cheating on me."_

"_Kwest would never cheat on you. There has to be an explanation." Jude said and looked at Kwest._

"_She's my cousin. I told you I was taking her and her friends around town for a favor to my aunt. They wanted to see the studio, and it was late. Sadie, I would never."_

"_I gotta go." Sadie said walking away._

_Tommy heard yelling and hoped it would go away. He was asleep in Studio B. He walked out the door and ran right into Sadie. "Whoa, what's going on? Why are you crying?"_

"_Kwest was in your office. And he walked out with…"_

"_Teesha? His cousin? She fell asleep on my couch. He told me he was going to crash in there with her."_

"_Really?"_

"_Why would I lie Sadie?"_

"_Tell Kwest I'm sorry and I'll see him at my mom's party." All Tommy could do was watch her walk away._

_Tommy walked into the lobby as all the models were waking up. Kwest was standing there talking to Jude. "I promise Teesha is my cousin."_

"_I believe you, Kwest. I see the way you look at my sister. I know you wouldn't cheat."_

"_Hey you two." Tommy said making his presence known._

_Jude smiled seeing his disheveled hair. "Hey. You get stuck here all night?"_

"_Yeah. Sadie told me to tell you she was sorry and she'd see you at the party." He told Kwest. _

"_So, she believes me?"_

"_Yeah man. You ready to get some work done?" He asked Jude._

"_Lead the way." She was amazed how he didn't pay any attention to the beautiful women around them._

_When Jude got home, Sadie was setting up for the party in her own little world. Then their mom called and told her Don was taking her to New York for the weekend. So they decided to call off the family and invite friends for a disco party._

_Jude watched when Kwest got there. Sadie ran to him and hugged him. It made her smile because she knew how they felt about each other._

"_You know Kwest isn't the one that shouldn't be trusted around a bunch of models. Kwest is completely loyal." Portia said coming up beside Jude._

"_She really loves him."_

"_You know Tommy is the one with an obsession for models. If anyone hooked up with any of them, it was him."_

_Jude looked straight ahead. What did Portia know? Tommy wasn't the same guy he was when he was married to Portia or was he? Portia didn't know about them, so why would she be saying this?_

_Tommy was running late. He'd gone home to get some sleep after the recording session with Jude. He's turned his phone off so no one could wake him up. When he turned it back on, he got a text form Jude saying the party plans had changed._

"_T, you're late." Kwest said to him when he finally got there._

"_Yeah, I over slept. Didn't know there was a dress code."_

"_It's a disco party."_

"_How are you and Sadie?"_

"_Fine."_

"_Good."_

_Just then Jude stormed over to them. "So how many numbers did you get last night?"_

"_What are you talking about?" Tommy was completely confused._

_Jude had let what Portia said sink in, and it was tearing her up. "Maybe you just hooked up with a couple. I mean they were models and everyone knows Little Tommy Q can't resist models."_

"_Jude you're causing a scene. Let's go inside to talk."_

"_I trusted you, Tommy."_

"_I didn't do anything."_

"_You were supposed to be different. You were supposed to be the one that I believed in. Stop lying to me and just go home._

_Tommy was speechless. He hadn't done anything. He'd fallen asleep at the soundboard mixing one of Jude's songs. Jude had been the only thing on his mind. "Jude." He said and reached for her, but she pushed him into the hot tub._

_Jude curled up in her bed crying her eyes out. "Jude." Sadie said coming in the room._

"_Go away Sadie. I don't feel like having company."_

"_Not until we talk. Why did you accuse Tommy of cheating? Kwest said Tommy was working the whole time they were there. He loves you, Jude."_

"_Really? I barely see him unless we're working. He breaks promises left and right. And Portia said…"_

_Sadie interrupted her. "Portia, his ex wife? What did she say?"_

"_That Tommy loved models, and he's be the one to hook up with one before Kwest. And I know he wasn't faithful to her."_

"_You can't listen to her. I don't think she is fully over him."_

"_But Sadie, she doesn't know about us. Why would she say those things to me if he wasn't like that?"_

"_I don't know, Jude. But before you throw away your relationship, talk to him."_

"_I will tomorrow."_

_Tommy drove home wondering what the hell was going on. When they'd left the studio that day she was fine, but obviously she'd gotten it in her head he could cheat on her. He was gonna have to make Jude talk to him the next day._

_Jude got to G Major early the next day. She wanted time to talk to Tommy before they had to record. She went by hospitality made them both a cup of coffee then went to his office. "Hi." She said putting his coffee in front of him._

"_Hi." He replied looking up at her. He looked into her eyes trying to read her thoughts._

"_I think maybe we should talk. I'm sorry I pushed you in the hot tub."_

"_Jude what happened? When we left here yesterday everything was fine."_

"_Tommy, I'm not like all those girls. I can't compete."_

"_Who said you have to? You are all I want."_

"_But Portia said." She stopped mid sentence._

"_Portia said what? Jude she was trying to put doubt in your head. I was working the whole time I promise."_

"_Why would Portia want to put doubt in my head. She doesn't know about us."_

"_Actually, she saw us day before yesterday. I didn't say anything because I didn't know she'd do something like this. Jude, I love you. I would never cheat on you. I'm not the same guy I was when I was married to her." He said cupping the side of her neck, and looking her straight in the eyes._

_She looked down biting her bottom lip. "I love you, too." She looked up and he was leaning in to kiss her. Before their lips touched, the door swung open and Portia walked in._

"_We have a problem." She said holding up a tabloid with a picture of Jude pushing Tommy into the hot tub with a huge headline saying 'Lover's Quarrel?' across it._

"_Great." Tommy said throwing his arms up in the air. "You know this is all your fault." He said to Portia._

"At least your parents didn't kill me." He laughed at the memory.

"That seems like such a long time ago, but it's only been a little over a year."

"I know."

"I better go. You enjoy that hot tub."

"I love you, and I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, love you too." Jude closed her phone smiling. She couldn't wait until Tommy was home.

**~Please review~**


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm glad you all enjoy the story. Here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 17

Tommy spent his nights bored. During the day, he and Karma would be in meetings, then at night he would just sit in his hotel room. Of course the only thing ever on his mind was Jude. He hoped he could pull off her birthday perfectly. He was flipping through channels mindlessly wishing he were in Toronto at Jude's show. He loved watching her perform. It was like she just came alive on stage. He found an award show on and it reminded him of the year before when Jude was nominated for a people's pick.

_After the fiasco with the picture in the tabloid, things at G Major had been tense. Darius had told them both that he didn't want to know one way or the other, but what ever had to stop. He didn't want the kind of publicity this was getting for G Major. He even threatened to take Tommy off Jude's album. Jude's mom hadn't been much better considering they broke one of her conditions. They had to cool it for a few weeks._

_When Jude got nominated for a people's pick, there was no way they could go to the show together. They had to pick cover dates because it wouldn't look right if they went stag either._

_After the award show, they were at his place celebrating since she won. His lips were attached to hers as soon as they were inside. He'd craved to have her near him all night. She moaned into his mouth, parting her lips to deepen the kiss. He took advantage, and massaged her tongue with his. He pushed her against the wall in the living room. He moved his mouth to her neck. His tongue ran over her collarbone._

"_Couch." She said._

_He moved them over to the couch. Hovering over her, he stared into her eyes. They were always so expressive. "What are you thinking, Big Eyes?"_

"_That model was a little much tonight, don't ya think?"_

"_I was looking at you all night. But what about Mason, Jude, that's really believable. He is so gay."_

"_You knew?" She asked in a shocked voice._

"_You didn't? Come on, Jude."_

"_No, I didn't know. I thought he had a crush on me."_

"_Sure. So what was going on with Spiederman tonight and why did you stay in the bathroom?"_

"_Spied was being an ass because I asked Mason and not him to be my cover date. When I went to the ladies room, I lost one of those really expensive earrings Portia had me wear. I thought it went down the toilet, but it was just on the back of my dress."_

"_That's good. Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?"_

"_I don't think you did. We had to take other dates to the show."_

_He nuzzled her neck kissing underneath her ear. "So beautiful, you put that model to shame." He kissed her ear lobe and moved lower lightly sucking making his mark._

_He felt her relax as she ran her fingers through his hair. He started slightly tickling her sides. Jude started giggling. "Tommy, stop."_

"_Or what?" He joked in a husky voice._

"_You're going to ruin this dress that I have to take back to Portia tomorrow."_

_As she was talking he was already pulling the dress up her legs. "Then the dress has to go." He whispered. His fingers were feather light on her skin._

_She met his eyes, and he was amazed at the trust he saw in them. She rose up enough for him to unzip the back and pull it over her head. He buried his face in the crook of her neck while his hands roamed her body. Her silky skin felt amazing under his fingertips. _

"_You know, I trust you with everything I am." Jude's voice brought him out of his thoughts. _

"_I love you so much." He said sincerely._

"_I know. I love you, too." She said before he met her lips in yet another breath taking kiss._

_Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had sex, but with Jude it wasn't like that. He knew she was trusting him with her body and her heart. Nothing would happen until he knew she was ready. Right now he was going to enjoy the feel of her skin under him knowing that one day it would be more._

That night knowing how much she trusted him, made him love her even more. God, he was ready to get home to her.

Jude woke up with a smile on her face. It was a week before her birthday. She was going to have the perfect party, perfect dress, and the perfect guy. She couldn't wait. The best part about this day was Tommy was coming home. A week was too long to be with out him. She needed to get to G Major early because she had to finish the presentation for Darius. She was looking forward to working on her third album.

Tommy was so glad to be home. He'd missed Jude like crazy and just wanted her in his arms. He was in his office with the lights out. They'd left Montreal so early that morning that he needed a few minutes to rest before getting to work. They'd come straight to G Major after getting into town. Jude wasn't expecting him until later. He heard her voice floating through the air. He eyes flew open when the door opened behind him, and he didn't waste any time. He saw her figure in the dark and heard her gasp when he spun her around. "Don't say anything." He whispered and his lips crashed against hers.

Jude moaned in shock when she felt Tommy's warm lips rubbing against hers. It startled her because Tommy wasn't supposed to be home yet. She heard him make a frustrated groan, silently telling her to relax and give in to the kiss. So, she did.

As soon as he felt her relax, re reached up and cupped her face while softening the kiss. His fingers dove into her wavy blonde hair as he pulled away slightly only to come back for more. He'd missed her lips so much. They way she always gave just as much as he did. He wanted to taste her, so he tilted his head to the side and plunged his tongue into her mouth.

Jude groaned with pleasure at the feel of his tongue rubbing against hers. She felt so much passion in his kiss. A week apart was too much. Thinking about how much she missed him made her groan and plunge her fingers in his hair as she pulled him closer.

Tommy groaned at her aggression and backed her against the door, wanting to feel her body against his. He never wanted to be away from her again. He tore his lips away from her and ran them over her jaw line and down her neck.

Jude arched her head back against the door and clutched a handful of hair with her fist. "Tommy." She said huskily when she felt his warn tongue on her neck.

He groaned her name before he captured her lips once more. They stayed just like that until both needed air.

"I didn't expect you home yet." Jude said when she caught her breath.

"We got an early start. Karma was in a rush for some reason." He said with a laugh.

"And here I was thinking she'd be enjoying being away with you."

"I missed you so much."

"Me too, babe, me too. I got the presentation ready to show Darius. I'm really thinking he'll like the idea."

"I hope so. The more time I get to spend with you the better."

"I can't believe you are actually here." She said smiling.

"I don't ever want to be away from you again." He responded resting his forehead on hers.

"Me neither." She kissed his lips lightly. "You ready to go blow Darius' mind?"

"Let's go."

An hour later, they are back in his office. "So, he didn't like it." Jude sighed.

"Hey at least we get to prove it's a good idea. Why don't you come over tonight? I'll cook us dinner and we can figure out some places to get our samples."

"Okay."

**Hope you enjoy. Please review**


	18. Chapter 18

**Here's the next chapter. I might have to slow down a bit so I can stay ahead of my writing. Also the rating will change come chapter 19. So be on the look out for that. **

**I own nothing.  
**

Chapter 18

Jude went home to pack a picnic for the next day. Tommy had to work with Karma some more. She was packing the basket when Sadie cam in looking all dreamy. "What's up with you?" Jude asked laughing.

"Great afternoon with Kwest. What's all this?"

"Quincy and I are going to find new places to record."

"So Darius went for it?"

"Not exactly. We have to record samples and prove it to him."

"So are you going to be home for dinner?"

"Sadie, Tommy's been gone for a week. What do you think?"

"How's he doing today? Kwest told me what today was to him."

Jude had forgotten. This was a hard day on Tommy, and she hadn't even thought about it. She'd been so consumed with him being home. She remembered when he told her about it.

_It was Jude's seventeenth birthday. For the past week she and Tommy had been fighting about everything. In the studio, he would tell her she needed to change her cord progression, and she would go off on him. Or she would catch him zoning off not paying attention when they were trying to finish a song. The day of her birthday was the worst. When everyone tried to celebrate, Tommy insisted they get to work, but then he barely paid attention to her._

"_Hey, you want to focus and maybe listen to me?" Jude finally said after ending the song. She knew he hadn't heard a note she sang._

"_Give me something worth listening to and I might. You sound tentative like, 'Hey guys is it okay that I'm singing?"_

"_Yeah, but the song's good. It could be the next party anthem." Kwest defends._

"_For a preschool party. It's weak."_

"_I've recorded weak before, Mr. Quincy, and you said it was great."_

"_For a bootleg. Hey, all I am trying to do here is produce a great record."_

"_Please you haven't been here all week. All you've done is pick fights with me." She was tired of fighting with him. She knew something was wrong, but the only way to get it out of him was to piss him off._

"_Why don't you focus on giving me one song I can work with?"_

"_Why don't you start by being a good producer?" By this time Kwest had left the room. "Oh and maybe a boyfriend sometimes."_

"_What the hell is that supposed to mean?"_

"_Well, Spied says you're not coming tonight. Tommy it's my birthday, and we are fighting. What is going on with you? We haven't communicated in a week."_

"_Jude, Caveman Days? Come on, it's not my thing."_

"_So my birthday is not you thing? Tommy you know after my last birthday was a disaster; I just wanted a quite night with the people that mean the most to me. My dad is out of town, so that means Mom, Sadie, Kwest, Spied and you. Spied thought Caveman Days would be fun." She really couldn't understand why he seemed so put off by spending her birthday with her._

_Darius interrupted their argument. "Can you get some work done here?" He asked in a frustrated tone. "I don't care what is going on outside G Major. When you're here, leave your personal issues at home."_

"_Sure." Jude said walking to the door. She looked back at Tommy. "I'm leaving the rehearsal space at six if you're coming." She really hated walking away, but if she didn't she'd do something she'd regret._

_When she got to the rehearsal space she was running late hoping Tommy would already be there, but he wasn't. Before she could be upset, she heard banging on the pipes. She knocked back, and heard a voice yell out. She went to the apartment below hers, and found the door handle in the floor. She was half scared of who was on the other side of that door._

"_Um, I've got the thing hang on. Okay so you know, I have a phone and a boyfriend upstairs. He's 200 pounds and a moving man. And he has scaving anger management issues." She pushes the door open. "Hello?"_

_She sees a light and Tommy. "A moving man?" He said as she screamed. "Don't let go of the door." But it was too late. They were locked in. It wouldn't have been that bad if they weren't fighting._

"_But its my birthday." Jude exclaimed. "Why are you so intent on wrecking my whole entire birthday?"_

"_I'm not. I came early thought we should deal with some issues. I thought we should talk. You weren't here yet, so I started looking around and got locked in here."_

"_We're missing Caveman Days right now."_

"_No need to thank me." He said sarcastically. _

"_I just wanted a normal birthday after the one I had last year. Do you remember my birthday last year, Tommy?"_

_Tommy didn't respond, he just lit candles around the room. This aggravated Jude because it was like Tommy was shutting off from her._

"_Remember Shay breaking up with me? Then you kissed me and told me to forget it?"_

"_What do you want me to do, Jude? Huh?"_

"_I don't know. I'd tell you but you'd probably ignore me like you have for the last week."_

_Tommy kicked the door, and Jude decided they both needed to cool down a bit. After a few minutes they could hear her cell phone ringing through the pipes. _

"_No cell phones. It's like the middle ages in here."_

"_Or the Fifties." Tommy said pulling a cloth off a piano. "I think we are at The Chrome Cat. It used to be in this area."_

_Jude watched him as he explained all about The Chrome Cat. It was like his anger just disappeared. It was amazing how much he loved music. She walked around looking at the place, while he tinkered on the piano. She didn't care that they weren't at Caveman Days. She'd really just wanted to spend time with Tommy. If they weren't fighting, this would be the perfect birthday. She sat on the floor and her stomach growled. _

"_Was that your stomach?"_

"_Maybe."_

"_I'll order us a pizza." He said sarcastically. She couldn't help but smile. He held up a packet of crackers. "From lunch."_

"_Did you pocket the free butter too?" She asked then walked over to the piano._

"_Back in my day, we were grateful for crackers." He said handing her one. _

"_Okay. This is a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger with no pickle. And yours is red licorice."_

"_Mine's tourtiere."_

"_It's what?"_

"_Ma Mere, she used to make it. It's a meat pie. Pork, spice, and the best pastry, but see we only got it at Reveillon."_

"_I always forget your French, Quincy. Since you won't tell me your real name." She knew he only opened up to her a little at a time. She knew Quincy was a stage name, but he hadn't let her know what his birth name was yet._

"_All in due time, babe."_

"_Look I'm sorry about yelling at you all day." She apologized._

"_Well, even directed at me, it's better than no emotion at all."_

"_Okay. Good, so I have about fifty things I'd like to say, scream, and punch you for." She wanted to get every emotion that she'd felt for the last week out of her system._

"_So grab a pencil." He responded and she had no clue what he was taking about. "I mean we are stuck here." He explained then said something in French._

_Writing the song was liberating, but also fun. All the tension that had been there for the last week was gone. It was just them writing a song together again. In the back of Jude's mind she was still wondering what made him so distant. _

"_I guess I have my share of apologizing to do." Tommy said later as they were sitting on the couch. "I haven't been available this past week. You know I spent most of my life shutting people out. Sometimes I slip back into that, but I don't mean to shut you out."_

"_What are you shutting me out about?"_

"_Remember last week when I called out sick, and didn't answer my phone all night?"_

"_Yeah, and it seems like we have been fighting ever since."_

"_That was the anniversary of Angie's death. I woke up that day, and didn't know how to function. It's not that I'm not over her. I learned to let go a long time ago. This year was different. I have you, and I got scared that I was going to do something stupid and loose you too."_

"_I wish you would have come to me. Tommy, I would have been there for you, or given you space." She said moving closer to him. "I would have given you what ever you wanted." It broke her heart that he felt like he still had to face these things alone._

"_I'm so sorry. Then when Spied came to me and said he was planning your birthday at Caveman Days, I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was jealous because he can do things like that for you and I can't." _

"_Spied thought it would be fun. He wasn't trying to step on your toes." She couldn't help but find his jealousy cute. "Spied and I are like brother and sister. He knows that. Plus there are things you can do for me, that he could never do." She said straddling his lap. "Do you know how much I've missed you this week?" She asked leaning her forehead against his._

"_I think so. I don't want to fight. I love you too much for that."_

_Jude's heartbeat sped up. It always did when he'd say those words. "I love you, too." She whispered before their lips met._

_The kiss was light at first. She loved the feeling of his lips against hers. It was like she wanted to savor the feeling. She could feel his hand rubbing her legs and craved his skin against hers. There were still things she wasn't ready for in the relationship, but she trusted that things wouldn't go to far._

_His lips moved to her neck and she unzipped his jacket. She moved it down his shoulders, and he tossed it in the floor as he moved them to where he was over her. "Happy Birthday." He said into her ear send shockwaves through her before meeting her lips again. _

_She smiled softly and moaned against his lips, when she felt his body crushing her into the couch cushions. "I love the way you feel." She said before he attacked her lips once more. He smelt absolutely amazing she thought as his musky scent took over her senses. He hands roamed his broad back enjoying the way his muscles moved beneath her hands. She slipped her hands beneath his shirt and felt the heat radiating from his skin as his hands explored him._

"_You're hands are cold." Tommy said teasingly._

"_Sorry." She said as his lips traveled down her neck. "Want me to stop?"_

"_Don't you dare." He growled._

_She laughed at that, but her laughter turned into a groan when his mouth captured her ear. "Please god, let us be lost all night." She groaned and Tommy just laughed before he kissed her again._

_His hands slipped under her shirt and her senses went wild. She stopped her exploration of his skin long enough to raise up and get rid of her shirt. Tommy seemed to be taking her lead, and tore his shirt off before nuzzling her neck letting his fingers roam her skin. Jude was going crazy. _

"_Your skin is so soft." He said barely above a whisper smothering her chest in kisses._

_She cupped his face and brought him up so she could look into his eyes. "I love you."_

"_I love you, too, birthday girl."_

_They stayed on the couch forever enjoying being together. Jude never once cared about how they were going to get out of there. When Spied and Jamie finally found them, she was a bit sad they had to go back to the real world._

"_Thank you." She told him when he dropped her off at her house._

"_For what?"_

"_Giving me the best birthday ever."_

"_No problem. I'd do anything for you."_

"_Like tell me you last name?"_

"_Good night, Jude."_

"_Good night, Quincy."_

Jude felt horrible. "He seems to be doing fine. At least he hasn't shut down like last year. I was so distracted by him being home that I forgot."

"Well maybe he's been distracted enough by you that he hasn't thought about it either." Sadie offered with a reassuring hug.

**Enjoy and Review**


	19. Chapter 19

**Here's the next chapter. Rating will change in next chapter instead of this one. As always I own nothing.**

Chapter 19

Tommy was leaving the studio later than he wanted to. He was tired from his trip. He wanted to get home, cook dinner, and spend time with Jude. He was heading for the door when Darius stopped him.

"T, how are you doing today?"

"Good, D. Glad to be home."

"Look if you feel like you need some time off."

"Jude and I are just ramping up."

"Yeah, about that."

"What?" Tommy knew exactly where Darius was taking this.

"Man, I haven't ever said anything, but she's seventeen years old."

"You may have never voiced your opinion, but your actions have been loud and clear."

"What do you mean?"

"D, I have always done what you have wanted me to do. I jump on a plane to fly to Montana on a moments notice. We've always done things your way. We keep our personal relationship out of this place as much as possible. And in a week she'll be eighteen. Outside of this, we are none of your business."

"She's still my artist."

"But she's my girl." And with that he walked away.

He had a couple of stops to make to get things for dinner. He didn't get to cook often, but it was something he loved to do, especially for Jude. She would try anything at least once.

He couldn't help but think about his talk with Darius. He wondered how he was going to react after her birthday. Tommy had learned a long time ago not to let Darius control his life. Five years to be exact. This year was different. He didn't want to shut down. He knew Angie would want him to be happy, and with Jude he was happier than he'd ever been. Jude made him want to be a better person. Sometimes, though, his past mistakes helped Jude do the right thing.

_They were hanging out at her house. Her mom was still not home, and Sadie was at Kwest's. "So he wanted me naked in mud." Jude said laughing._

"_Does he know you are only seventeen?"_

"_I don't think he cared. And Darius wasn't much better since he wasn't discouraging him. Then Portia huffed and followed him out of the room."_

"_Don't worry. If you want me to talk to Portia." There was no way he was going to let his girlfriend be naked on her album cover._

"_No, I can stand up for my self."_

"_Okay. So, you want to talk about your music test? Jude, I know math is not your best subject, but music?"_

"_I'm so busy that school is like the last thing on my mind. Dad says we can get me a tutor so I won't have to worry with school, school."_

_Tommy didn't like the sound of that considering he didn't finish school him self. He almost felt like a hypocrite if he said something, but he couldn't help it. "You know I always wish I had the whole high school experience to look back on, but if that's what you want to do. Who am I to tell you not to?"_

_The next day Tommy went to talk to Portia. "Hey can I talk to you."_

"_Okay."_

"_Look Jude was really excited about Tad Thompson doing her album cover."_

"_Yeah, but she didn't like his ideas."_

"_Portia, come on. She's seventeen. She is not going to be naked in mud on her album cover. First her parents would never go for it."_

"_Her parents have agreed to worse things."_

"_What is that supposed to mean?"_

"_Come off it, Tommy. You know exactly what I am talking about. They don't seem to mind her dating her much older producer."_

"_This has nothing to do with me. Just see if you can get him back."_

"_I'll see what I can do."_

_That after noon they went to a public school to hand out instruments to elementary students as damage control for Jude's music grade going public. Tommy just watched her wondering if she was actually learning a lesson. He realized Jude didn't understand what a role model she was. She even told a little ten-year-old girl to get used to people not liking her songs. It was all he could think about on the ride back to G Major. _

_When the bus stopped, he was brought out of his thought when he heard Portia say the photographer was back on for Jude's album cover. He looked up and Jude had moved to the seat in front of him._

"_I saw a teacher get swoon-ish when she saw you in the gym, I swear."_

"_Hey kid get used to people not liking your stuff?"_

"_Yeah, I had to get used to it."_

"_You are a rock star, that kid is ten."_

"_Okay be nice. I've had a rough week."_

"_Hey get used to it."_

"_Come on Tommy, what was I supposed to say?"_

"_Do you remember back a few months ago when you begged Darius not to take me off your album?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_DO you know what you need me?"_

"_I have a few ideas."_

"_Because I always pull you through. I always keep you going. That little girl is going to quit, Jude, because no one told her to keep going." He hated being this harsh to her, but he needed her to see that these kids look up to her, and take what she says to heart._

_The next day he looked for Jude everywhere. He actually wanted to apologize and make sure she was okay. He thought maybe he should have explained everything to her in a less harsh way. She wasn't at home or at G Major. Spied said she wasn't at school. He decided to get some work done on Mason's album. _

"_T, have you heard from Jude today?" Darius asked walking into studio A._

"_Nope. Can't seem to find her."_

"_Well the music teacher from yesterday called and said she was in his class again. Apparently, she wanted to make up for yesterday. He said she was writing a song with the kids." Tommy couldn't believe the smile that was on Darius' face. "You didn't know anything about this?"_

"_No, but it doesn't surprise me. D, I have been telling you she's a pro now." Tommy was so proud of her. He knew she would do the right thing._

_He couldn't wait to see her and get back to work the next morning. He watched her with the little girl, and saw a different Jude. One that knew and respected that kids looked up to her._

"_So, Darius wants this song on the album." He said walking into studio A, where she was waiting for him._

"_Nice."_

"_It was nice of you to go back to that school."_

"_Hey it was nice of you to call me on it. Oh, and I'm going back to school, school instead of getting a tutor. I thought about what you said, and I guess having the high school experience will be good for me in the long run."_

_He couldn't help but smile. "So, are you ready to do this?"_

"_Are you ready to show me how it's done?"_

"_There are a lot of inappropriate answers to that question."_

"_Don't okay. We're at work. Professional remember."_

"_Alright, but why don't you come over tonight. Bring your laundry, I'll help you with it."_

"_Okay. Cook me dinner?"_

"_Anything you want."_

"_Okay."_

She was always amazing him. Five years ago he never thought he'd love again. But Jude was it for him.

When he got home, he had to rush. He knew she'd be there soon, and he had to get dinner started. Every few minutes he'd think back to Angie. His life had changed so much since her death. Back then he was a cocky boy bander. Now he was a semi successful producer. Maybe he was still a bit cocky, but he knew how to appreciate the things in life now.

**Please review**


	20. Chapter 20

**Rating has changed.**

**Enjoy**

**I own nothing**

Chapter 20

From the parking lot, his apartment was dark. Jude wondered if he was even home yet. When she got to the door, it was unlocked. She could smell dinner coming from the kitchen. There were candles lit in the living room.

"There's my girl." Tommy said walking out of the kitchen.

Jude couldn't help but smile. "Hey. It smells fabulous in here. Is it what I think it is?"

"Yep. Tristian texted me the recipe that he found in some old stuff back home."

"How is the mysterious older brother?"

"He's fine. I talked to him last week. And he is not mysterious. He just doesn't get a chance to come to Toronto."

"And how are you today?" She asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm okay; a lot better than I was last year. D even asked if I needed to take some time off."

"Do you?"

"Nope. I'm ready to get to work on your album."

"Then so am I, co-producer." She said with a smile before pecking him on the lips. "How long before dinner's ready?"

"Just a few minutes. Why don't we work on that list for tomorrow?"

"Oh I forgot. I packed a picnic for out little road trip."

They worked on their list and just sat around joking around with each other. They'd missed just being around each other. They knew that the one thing that kept them together besides their love for one another was their friendship.

After dinner they were laying on the couch just talking. Jude had her back to Tommy's chest. He had his arms wrapped around her, and she was playing with his fingers. "That had to be the best meal I have ever eaten."

"So, you think I am a good cook?" He asked with a hint of laughter.

"I've said it before and I will say it again, you can cook for me anytime, anywhere." She said with a happy sigh. She loved being back in his arms.

"I will." He said and let out a yawn.

"You're tired. I should get home, and let you get some sleep."

"Stay. You know I sleep better with you in my arms."

She turned so she could look at him. "Do you remember the first night I slept over here?"

"It was right after your mom left."

_Jude felt like the world was falling around her. All she wanted was to feel Tommy's arms around her, and hear him say it was going to be okay. She hadn't talked to him in two days, so she went to his apartment._

"_Hey." He said opening the door._

_Jude instantly stepped up to him, wrapped her arms around his torso, and buried her face in his chest. She was trying to hold in a sob._

"_Shh." Tommy said rubbing her back. He had no clue what was going on. He'd been trying to call her for the last two days. "Come on in the living room." He said in a soothing voice._

_They sat on the couch, and she still just buried her face in his chest. "Just hold me." Was all she said._

_Tommy didn't ask any questions, he just did what she wanted him to do. He knew she would tell him what was going on when she was ready. "It's okay. I'm here." He said and kissed the top of her head._

"_My mom got married today, and she's running off to Europe." She finally said after a while._

"_That's sudden." Tommy was truly shocked._

"_Yeah. The other day when Sadie and I got home there was a for sale sign in our yard. Mom claimed she was only testing the market, but I knew she was lying. We got into a fight yesterday, and she claimed I didn't need her because I was always with you. I mean I'm seventeen; of course I need my mom. But she's always with Don, and Don cares nothing about her children."_

_Tommy just sat there and listened to her._

"_Last night me, Jamie, and Sadie spent the night at the rehearsal space. This morning we were getting coffee and other stuff, and my credit card declined. Seems I'm ten thousand dollars in the whole."_

"_What? You barely use you credit card."_

"_Exactly. Seems a second card came…"_

"_How could your mom do that?" Tommy was furious. How could Victoria do that to her own daughter?_

"_No, worse. Sadie."_

_Now Tommy was completely confused. That didn't sound like the Sadie he knew now. That sounded like the Sadie he met over a year ago. "Why?"_

"_I don't know. She said she returned a bunch of stuff, and that she was going to get a job to pay for the rest. I wouldn't let her explain more than that. I mean she let me believe our mother stole from me. I ran to my room, where I found my cell phone. I had like ten messages and I don't even know how many missed calls. I'm sorry I forgot my phone for the last couple of days."_

"_Don't worry. It seems like you had your plate full. So, what are you going to do about your mom?"_

"_I guess there's nothing I can do. Dad is moving back in the house. There should be an agent come by tomorrow, and I think dad wants to buy the house. But tonight I just don't want to be there." She said looking up and making eye contact with him."_

"_You know you are always welcome here. You want some coffee?"_

"_Please."_

_Tommy went to make a pot of coffee. He thought about what she was going through. Then he thought about his own family issues. Maybe it was time to tell her. He wanted her to know she wasn't the only one with a messed up family._

_Jude sat on the couch with her feet pulled underneath her. Her mind was going crazy with everything. How could her mom leave her? How could her sister steal for her? She thought she and Sadie had a better relationship than that. She felt like Tommy was the only person she could really trust._

_He came back into the living room, and handed her a cup of coffee. "Dutois." He said._

"_Huh?"_

"_My last name is Dutois. I'm originally from Caraquet, New Brunswick. Mom is an alcoholic who never cared much for me. No dad in the picture. Like I told you before, I got into a lot of trouble when I was a kid. It didn't help that my mom was drunk all the time."_

"_Were you an only child?"_

"_I have an older brother. Tristian is only a couple of years older, but when I left home he was still there. Still is. He can't do anything wrong in her eyes. He's the golden child. I went back once during my Boyz Attack days. Mom wanted nothing to do with me. Told me money and fame didn't change what a screw up I was."_

"_Oh Tommy. I don't know what to say."_

"_You don't have to say anything. I just thought it was time you knew."_

"_Where did Quincy come from?"_

"_Darius thought it was a good name. My point of telling you this is because I want you to know you're not alone."_

"_How could she just abandon her seventeen-year-old daughter like that?"_

"_I don't know. Just like I don't understand how my mom could hit her twelve year old son the way she did."_

"_I guess we both have mom issues. So, what have you been up to over the last two days?" She wanted to think about something different for a little while._

"_Prank war with your band." He said with a chuckle._

"_Okay that sounds interesting. That must have been what was wrong with Spied tonight at The Chain." _

"_Yeah D and I got them pretty good."_

"_What did you do?"_

"_They started it. This morning when I got to my office, all of D's stuff was there. He was furious at me. If I were going to pull a prank on him it would be more than stealing his stuff. So, we faked me killing D. We had them really going. Wally and Kyle ran out of the building."_

"_Tommy that's bad, but damn it's funny. I bet Spied was pissed."_

"_Well, if he thinks I don't have sense of humor, then he has another thing coming. But he does need to realize that there is a time to play and a time to work. And what does 'Lord Squinty Frown' mean anyway?"_

_Jude couldn't help but laugh at the name her band had given her boyfriend. "Well, it's a compliment since they call you lord." She tried defending._

"_Jude."_

"_What? You squint and frown a lot, I guess."_

"_I do not. I think I've smiled more since I met you than I have my whole life." He said getting really serious._

"_Aww. I love you." She said moving over to sit in his lap._

"_And I love you." Tommy said before meeting her lips in a soft kiss._

_Jude wrapped her arms tighter around his neck pulling him closer to her. She wanted to forget everything just for a little bit. She didn't want to think about the pressures of finishing her second album, her mom running off and abandoning her, or her sister maxing out her credit card. All she wanted to do was think about being right here with Tommy._

_Tommy tilted his head to deepen the kiss as he untied her vest and unbuttoned her shirt. He ran his hand over her bare stomach and around to the small of her back. Never breaking the kiss, he shifted them to where he was lying over her._

_Jude couldn't get enough of his lips. She felt like the only time she could breath properly was when she was kissing him. She ran her hands up the back of his shirt. His skin was addictive for her. It was always so warm. The feeling of his warm tongue on her neck made her moan and buck her hips toward him. She needed something to relieve her tension._

_Tommy met her lips again, and ran his hand down her chest to her stomach. As usual her soft skin drove him crazy. He was always finding a new spot to adore. He could tell she was tense and he just wanted her to relax. "Jude, do you trust me?" He asked pulling back and looking into her eyes._

"_Of course." She said hoarsely._

_He kissed her lips lightly before unbuttoning her jeans. He kept eye contact with her as he pulled down the zipper. She raised her hips to help him remove them. Tommy ran his hands up her legs. "Just relax." He whispered in her ear._

_Jude was trying to relax as much as possible, but her thoughts were still jumping around in her head. She could feel Tommy's hands and mouth all over. This was where she wanted to be, but her mind wouldn't shut down._

_Tommy kissed down her chest, pulling her unbuttoned shirt open. He kissed each perfect mound right above the lace of her bra. One hand slid down between her legs. He could feel heat radiating. He pushed a side the fabric of her panties, and ran his thumb over her clit. He watched for her expression to change as he slid one finger into her core._

_All of Jude's rambling thoughts drifted away. She couldn't think of anything except for Tommy and the feelings rushing through her. Her body relaxed as his lips met hers again in a slow sensual kiss. Their tongues danced as her hips kept up with his pace._

_Tommy had to keep reminding himself this was about her. He ignored his growing erection as he could tell she was close to the edge. He pulled away from her lips to watch her. _

_Jude wasn't sure what to do with what she was feeling. "Tommy." She moaned closing her eyes._

"_Open your eyes, and look at me." He whispered. _

_Jude's eyes popped open as he added pressure to her now sensitive nub._

"_Just let go, Babe." He said staring into her eyes, and watched as they clouded over as she clinched around his fingers._

_She laid there as her heart rate slowed to it's normal pace. She and Tommy just conversed through eye contact. All the tension she was feeling before was completely gone. Tommy was all that was on her mind. She cupped the side of his face. "I love you." She whispered before their lips met in a slow relaxed kiss._

_The phone rang, and Tommy pulled away to go answer it. "I'll be right back."_

_Jude rolled over on her side and closed her eyes. She didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay here with Tommy. He was where she felt safe. In her heart she felt like Tommy would never leave her._

"_Hello?" Tommy answered the kitchen phone._

"_Tom, it's Stuart Harrison. Have you seen Jude tonight? She slipped out of the house earlier and isn't answering her phone."_

"_She's here, Mr. Harrison." He said politely._

"_Is she okay? Do I need to come get her?"_

_Tommy walked back into the living room with the phone. He silently chuckled to himself noticing she'd already fallen asleep. "She's fine. She just fell asleep on the couch. I'll get her home in the morning. I think she needs a break."_

"_I guess you're right. Thanks Tom."_

"_Not a problem."_

_Tommy smiled as he hung the phone up. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. He picked her up bridal style and took her to his room. He tucked her in before going to shower and get ready for bed himself._

"It was amazing waking up in your arms that next morning." She said before kissing him lightly.

"Best way to wake up."

"You've always made me feel so special. Thinking about me before your self. How many cold showers have you had in the past two years?"

"Too many to count." He answered with a smirk. "And you are special."

"We better go get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day."

"Lead the way, Babe."

**Please Review**


	21. Chapter 21

**This chapter is a bit long compared to the others. Let's say it is my Thanksgiving present. I won't be around until late Thursday or Friday sometime. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. **

**As always I own nothing.**

Chapter 21

The next day they went on their little road trip to record samples. One of Jude's spots was a clearing in the woods. It was perfect and open.

Tommy watched her as she was singing. Her voice was clear and beautiful. He couldn't help but smile, though he'd been smiling since he woke up with Jude in his arms. He thought about all that they'd been through and their future. Nothing was holding them back anymore. He couldn't wait until her birthday. He knew one way or another that night would start the next chapter in his life.

"What?" Jude asked looking at him when she stopped singing. She'd been noticing the way he'd been smiling all day. Of course so was she. She always slept so good in Tommy's arms. He was it for her. She wasn't sure what their future held for them, but she hoped that one day she'd be Mrs. Thomas Dutois.

"Nothing. It's fantastic." He replied.

"Well acoustics are good. It's wide open. It's good for a ballad."

"Mhm." He said slightly smirking.

"Now what?"

"I remember when you thought acoustics was the name of the studio."

"I did not."

"I'm just saying you've come a long way since we started working together; many moons ago."

"Yeah, look at you. How'd you stay out of the tabloids Mr. Playboy?" She asked with a hint of laughter.

Tommy picked up a flower off the ground, and put it in Jude's hair. "I guess we both changed."

"Yeah." She said before their lips met in a sweet kiss.

Just then an airplane flew over and they decided to move a long to the next location. "Come on, I want you to meet someone." Tommy said pulling her to the car.

Tommy took her to the all girls' school he used to rehearse at when he was trying out for Boyz Attack. He introduced her to the piano teacher that helped him get out of juvie. They were goofing off when Tommy turned serious.

"I want to talk about something." Tommy had been thinking about everything. Being back in that bathroom reminded him of who he used to be. Because of Jude, he was a better man. Before he could say what he wanted to say they had to rush out so they wouldn't get caught.

"Okay, out with it. The suspense is killing me." Jude said as they were going down the road. She knew well enough that when he turned serious it was major.

"You know it's funny. When I was your age I was a mess. I made some mistakes."

"I make mistakes. We learn and move on."

"But with you, I've become the man I should be." He looked away from the road to look at her.

"Look out!" Jude screamed and the car swerved off the road.

Tommy jumped out of the car and ran around to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She answered getting out of the car.

"Where is she?" When he swerved he thought he saw a girl in the road.

"Who?" Jude was confused.

"The girl in the road. I almost hit her."

"No, it was a dog. It ran into the woods. Good thing your aim is so bad."

"Jude, this is no time for jokes."

"Clearly you're not okay. Look the next place is right around the corner. I'll drive, okay?"

Jude drove them to a church near her family's farm. Tommy's head was going crazy. Talking about how much he'd changed made him think about Angie. He'd done so good the day before, but now not so much. If he'd always been who he was now, Angie would have never died. But then would he have met Jude?

"Have a seat and catch your breath." Jude said once they were inside. "You want to tell me what happened back there?"

"I saw her in the road." Was all he said. He couldn't tell her. He felt like he couldn't breath. Even though the love of his life was standing in front of him, he couldn't help but think that because of him someone was dead. "Maybe Darius was right, maybe…"

That was when Jude figured out what this was about. "Tommy, you didn't see Angie. Babe, she's gone."

"Yeah because of me." He said with a tear running down his cheek. "I need some air." He continued and walked out of the church.

She watched him walk out, and couldn't figure out why he just shut off. He hadn't done that in a long time. He's been fine the day before, but for some reason he seemed to throw up that wall Jude had spent two years breaking down. She sat down at the organ and flipped open her journal. She read the front page, and remembered when Tommy gave it to her.

_They had just finished her album and both were beyond excited. Darius and Liam squashed that excitement. They felt like something was missing._

"_Heart? My album doesn't have heart? What does that mean?"_

"_In Darius speak, it means it's missing a ballad. Look if he really hated it, he'd still be yelling."_

"_And Liam, how could he not love Anyone But You? You should be a mushroom cloud of hair gel a leather. Our album just got turfed."_

"_Well, I mean someone's gotta stay calm." Tommy said and she threw her bag at him. "Figure out how to bring Darius back around. Remind me what you wrote back on tour again."_

"_Ah no, girl from tour doesn't exist anymore. Darius crushed her as soon as she got off the bus." She didn't want to remember what things were like when she got back from tour._

"_That's it then, you want to call it. Ride this baby all the way to Vegas." He said referring to his bike._

_She couldn't help but smile at his Elvis voice. "Tempting, but I need to be dropped off. I promised Spied I'd help him with something._

_Tommy dropped her off, and she went to meet Spied. Her mind was still going crazy about the album. She believed in Anyone But You. She wanted it on the final copy. Tommy called and said he had an idea, so she went back to the studio._

"_Do you see a giant light bulb over my head?" Tommy asked when she got there._

"_Did you figure out how to save my album?"_

"_You figured out how to save your album, on tour a few months ago." He said showing her a journal._

"_You stole my journal?" She wasn't sure if she was angry or embarrassed. There were songs in there she hadn't shared with him_

"_Listen I hadn't slept in weeks, but you insisted on playing me all this new stuff. But I found a song I'd never seen before."_

"_Which one?"_

"_White Lines."_

"_Oh Tommy, no. Out of all the songs?"_

"_It's epic."_

_Jude wondered if he realized that the song was about him, and how much she missed him while she was on tour. She didn't show it to him because of everything that happened when she got back. "It's naive. I don't know."_

"_I know it'll have Darius sobbing like a little girl."_

"_You think?" She was afraid of putting something so personal on her album. Of course he was her inspiration on a lot of songs, but White Lines was specifically to him. She couldn't figure out how he didn't know, or maybe he did but didn't care that something that personally was put out there._

_They recorded the song, but Jude was uncomfortable singing it. The way Tommy's eyes bored into her she couldn't take it. She wanted the song to stay hidden. She didn't want to remember what it felt like with out him. She decided to slow down Anyone But You, and record an acoustic version. Spied had been her best friend through this whole thing, and she wanted their song to be heard. _

_The next day when they met with Darius about White Lines, Jude had decided to pitch the acoustic version of Anyone But You and a bonus track. There was only one problem, somehow the White Lines demo was recorded over. Tommy stormed out on them, but Darius liked it._

"_Darius says my album is ready. Come on where's the victory lap? He loved Anyone But You."_

"_Loved? That's a pretty generous interpretation." _

"_So you don't like Spiederman's song. The album's good enough."_

"_White Lines would make it phenomenal."_

_"I don't want to do White Lines." She said whining._

"_Sometimes you are so seventeen." He said and walked away._

_Jude hated when he only thought like her producer and not her boyfriend. She went home to work on her car. She really needed to clear her head. Maybe it wasn't the end of the world to put something so personal out there. _

"_Got your message, grease monkey." Spied said walking into her garage._

"_Oh, thanks for coming."_

"_It's cold."_

"_Yeah, I've been out here all afternoon. With mom gone it's weird, you know. The house feels like a the air has been sucked out of it."_

"_I know how the poor house feels."_

"_I tried to save our song. I really did."_

"_Why did you try so hard? What song did Quincy want you to use?"_

"_Something I wrote back on tour. It's actually something I wrote to deal with how much I missed him. He doesn't even seem to realize it is about him."_

"_Have you told him?"_

"_No."_

"_Dude you know some of the best songs out there are personal."_

"_Thanks, Spied."_

_Jude rushed to G Major hoping to find Tommy. "Sadie, have you seen, Tom?" She asked approaching the front desk. Sadie applied for the receptionist job to pay Jude's credit card bill. Their relationship was getting back on track. Sadie explained that, though she knew it was wrong, shopping was the way she was coping with the deal with their mom._

"_He and Liam are out to lunch. I think they are at the café on the corner."_

"_Thanks Sadie." She rushed out the door and down the street. She knew Tommy was right all along that White Lines was the perfect song for the album. Sure it was personal, but Spied was right, some of the best songs were personal._

_She found them and approached their table. She took a few seconds. "White Lines belongs on the album."_

"_Well there's no more money or studio time budgeted for your album. You're gonna have to surrender Jude." Liam said._

_Jude looked to Tommy. "I thought it was good enough, remember?" Tommy said._

"_Well, you know what else was good enough, Tommy? My last album; this is our last shot."_

"_The album is out of our hands." Liam added. "It's over."_

_She gave Tommy a pleading look._

"_It's not over. Not if I'm still working." Tommy said and Jude never felt more relieved._

_They went back to the studio, but still didn't talk about the song. When she started singing, his eyes were boring into her again. She couldn't seem to concentrate. _

"_You want to switch to condenser mic?"_

"_No, it not that."_

"_Are the acoustics too clean?"_

"_No, it's the song."_

"_You know you interrupted my very cordial lunch meeting to beg for another shot."_

"_I know. It just doesn't feel right." She wasn't sure why she was afraid to tell him what it was about. They'd been dating for over a year._

"_It's romantic. It's got passion. It's…"_

"_It's personal." She interrupted. "It's about you and how much I missed you when I was on tour. The only way I knew to deal with those feelings was to write. That's why you hadn't seen it. I wanted to put those feeling away when I got home."_

"_Can you bring them back out?"_

"_Not with you staring at me like that." _

_He took her to the parking lot where the tour bus was parked. He was always amazing her like that. Singing the song in the place she wrote it helped._

_When they were sitting in Darius office, she was a nervous wreck, and she could tell Tommy was too. It was times like these she wished they were open in front of Darius. She would have felt a lot better holding his hand._

"_I'm not down with getting calls while I'm at the DoJo, but for this, it's fantastic. I'll call Liam. He's holding the album this song is going to go on it." Darius said and Jude felt so much better. _

_When Darius was gone, Tommy pulled her into a tight hug. "We did it." She said loving the feeling of his arms around her."_

_They pulled back at the same time, and before she knew it they were kissing. It was a short kiss, but help just as much passion as her song did._

"_We should go." Tommy said while she was trying to catch her breath._

"_Yeah."_

_When she got to hold the first bootleg copy of her CD, she knew it was right._

"_You know the first time we finished an album, I was the jerk that didn't get you anything." Tommy said handing her a book._

"_A new journal."_

"_Well, yeah. As soon as this record hits number one, Darius is going to be clamoring for your next set of songs."_

_She opened the front cover and read. "Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside us. Wow sometimes you can be so twenty four."_

"_I took a chance. Shoot me."_

"_I'd rather kiss you." She said with a wink before Sadie walked in ruining the whole moment. _

Now looking at the quote and thinking about everything they'd been through since made her want to scream. She did the next best thing. She sat everything up and started recording her song.

Tommy took a couple of deep breaths when he stepped out of the church. What if the same thing happened to Jude because of him? Was he really good enough for her? Had he really changed in the two years being with her? He knew what he was feeling was wrong. They hadn't spent the last two years together just for him to get scared and run. When he was married to Portia, he slept with every woman that hit on him. Even with Angie his eyes still wondered. But Jude was different. He didn't notice anybody but her. He had to get rid of this feeling before he lost her.

He thought back to when Darius sent him to the states. He was so afraid of loosing Jude the way Darius made him leave.

_The album was done. Now all they had to do was sit back, wait for it to hit stores, and celebrate. Tommy was meeting Jude at G Major early. He pulled up and saw her waving to Mason's tour bus. "What are you waiting for, Big Eyes?" He asked rolling down the window._

_She got in the car. "Wow, this getting up early gives you quite the appetite."_

_He turned on the radio and put his finger up for her to listen to the DJ. "Rise to number three this week is hometown favorite Jude Harrison and My Sweet Time."_

_Tommy couldn't help but smile. His girl was coming up._

"_I'm at number three. I'm at number three." He could hear the excitement in her voice._

"_You did it, girl. I mean you are on your way up. You're on your way up."_

"_Yes we are." She said hugging him._

_He wrapped his arms around her, and just held her for a few seconds. This was what it was all about. Working hard on music together, and getting to celebrate their success. When she pulled back, she had a huge smile on her face. He ran his knuckle down her face before pulling away to take a celebration drive._

"_I can't believe it, Tommy." She said still beaming as he drove._

"_Believe it, Girl." He was so proud of her._

_That afternoon he stood out in the crowd watching his girl perform her heart out. He'd been thinking about asking her dad if he could take her on a weekend trip. He wanted to do something really nice for her, and get away with her for a couple of days. He was going to bring it up to her at dinner that night. He actually didn't care what anyone thought. He wanted to show his girlfriend what she meant to him. _

"_Mr. Mills wants to see you in his office." A man said approaching him. He recognized him as a G Major board member. _

"_Jude's show is not over."_

"_He doesn't care."_

_Tommy didn't know what this was about, but he wanted to get it over with before dinner. On the way to G Major, he sent a text to Jude's phone telling her to meet him at the restaurant. _

"_Alright, D, I'm here. What's up?" He said walking into his office._

"_You're flying to Montana tonight. I made sure your pass port was up to date. The G Major jet will take off in two hours."_

"_What? Why am I going to Montana?"_

"_You'll get more instructions when you get there."_

"_But Jude's album release." He argued._

"_Jude's album will come out just fine. The album is done. No need to hang around here."_

_Tommy was furious. He didn't know what Darius was sending him to Montana for, but he knew Darius was trying to distance him from Jude. They'd been slipping and acting to coupley at work._

_There was no way Tommy was going to jump on a plane to leave the country with out telling Jude. He walked into the restaurant looking around for her._

"_I thought you weren't coming. Are you gonna sit?"_

"_I have to leave, sorry. I don't know when I'm coming back."_

"_Just sit. Talk to me." She said and he couldn't look her in the eye. It was breaking his heart, and he didn't want to watch hers break, too._

"_I have a flight to catch. Bye." Short and simple was all he could do. When she ran after him calling his name, he couldn't even look back at her. He just got in the car and drove. This was defiantly not the way he pictured leaving town. All he could do was hope that when he was done with what ever he was doing for Darius, he could come home and Jude would understand._

He was lucky he didn't loose her then and it wasn't even his fault; this was. He had too much planned for their future to get scared and loose her now.

He walked back into the church and she was singing. He just went to the lab top and changed some levels. Her voice was overwhelming to him. After she was finished with the song, he packed everything up.

He pulled her up to stand with him. "You're a piece of work, Harrison."

"I get it…"

"I've opened up to you more than anyone in my life. You don't know how many times I've wished we could just run a way."

"Me too."

"I want to let it all go, Jude. I really do."

"Then let it go, Tommy. I love you, and I'm never going anywhere, unless you're with me." She said and he pulled her into a kiss.

The kiss was sweet and intense at the same time. Tommy tilted his head and caressed her bottom lip begging for entrance. She granted happily. They were both lost in each other.

"Are you here for the wedding?" They heard a voice and looked up to see the preacher.

Tommy looked back at Jude. "Why don't we get take out and go back to my place?"

"Good idea." She said and they shared another light kiss before following the preacher out of the church.

**There you go. Please Review**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hope everyone is having a happy holiday. I decided I would go ahead and post the next chapter. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 22

They went back to his place and ate their dinner. Everything went back to the way it was before he ran off the road. Of course Jude wasn't complaining. She was just happy he wasn't running away from her. She felt like they had been through way too much over the last two years to throw it away now.

"You're quiet over there." Tommy commented as they sat in the living room eating.

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"You, us, and everything we've been through. I was so scared today that you were going to walk away from this."

Tommy nodded and moved closer to her. "Girl, I've invested to much of me into us to walk away. You know me, the real me. Portia or Angie never knew about my childhood. Hell, Angie never even knew my real name."

"Really?" Jude was shocked by that. "Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if we didn't get together?"

"Oh god, you would have dated Jamie."

"Yeah, that would have lasted a total of a minute. I could never have those feelings for him. What about you? Would you have dated Sadie?"

"Maybe, but we wouldn't have been right. It would have been because she was your sister."

"That's just wrong. I probably would have dated Spied just because you weren't available."

"I'm glad that's not how it all turned out because there's no where I'd rather be than right here with you." Tommy said putting his food on the coffee table and turning to her.

"Me, too." She said before he kissed her lightly.

"I'll be right back." He said before heading upstairs.

Jude turned on the TV and flipped through channels. She decided she better check in with Sadie. Voicemail was great; she didn't have to listen to any of her questions. "Hey Sades, I'm at Tommy's. Probably not coming home. Just letting you know so you don't worry."

Tommy still hadn't come back down yet so she decided to clean up. She put all the empty boxes in the trash and the rest in the fridge. It was pretty bare. Tommy didn't grocery shop much. He had a thing about grocery stores and fan girls.

"Jude, babe, could you come here?" Tommy yelled from the top of the stairs.

When she reached the top of the stars, he was standing there in pajama pants and a wifebeater. "You called?" She said joking.

He took her hand and led her to his bedroom. Her breath caught in her throat. He had candles lit around the room. It was perfect.

He turned her to face him. "I love you more than anyone in my life. You and music are my life."

She cupped his face. "I love you, too." She said and raised up to meet him in a kiss.

He bent his head and took her mouth, kissing her with a slow, inviting passion that took Jude's breath away. She felt herself sinking into quicksand. Her lips parted beneath his gently persuasive mouth.

Tommy made a soft, hoarse sound that told Jude of his desire and set her senses vibrating. Deep inside her something clicked, and she knew this was it. She leaned into him and kissed him back with growing eagerness.

He groaned softly, deeply. His hand tightened tenderly on the nape of her neck. Then ran both hands down her back over her ass before raising her up so her legs wrapped around his waist. He carried her over and gently put her on his bed.

Jude felt the need to feel his skin against hers. She pulled her shirt over her head as he was crawling up her body. She looked into his eyes and saw pure love and desire. He reached behind her unhooking her bra, and threw it on top of her shirt. He couldn't help but admire her before kissing her chest. Taking one breast in his hand while his mouth took care of the other one. She tasted so sweet to him as always. He just wanted to take his time with her. He kissed up to her ear as she moaned his name.

"I want to make love to you tonight." He said in a husky voice before looking into her eyes.

Jude smiled softly. She could feel the hardness of his body pressed into her, and she knew he was fully aroused. She touched the side of his face before meeting his lips in a bruising kiss.

Their lips met and tongues dueled. Jude ran her hands up the back of his wifebeater. He pulled away long enough to discard it. Jude ran her hands down his chest, slightly grazing skin with her nails. She reached into his pants feeling his erection, running her hand down his shaft making him even harder.

"Jude." He moaned into her skin. He loved the feeling of her hands on him. He needed more of her. Unbuttoning her jeans, he pulled them and her panties off in one swift motion, and getting rid of his own too. He moved back up her body, both completely naked. "You are so beautiful." He said running his hand over her stomach.

A desperate hunger gripped Jude. She dug her nails into Tommy's back. She kissed him frantically, her lips moving feverishly over his mouth, his throat, and his chest. Jude clung to him when his hand went to the damp, hot place between her thighs. He ran one finger into her folds causing her to arch up towards his hand. He eased his finger back out of her snug passage and used her own moisture to lubricate her small, swelling bud. He repeated easing his finger into her and then teasing the small nubbin of female flesh.

"Oh god, Tommy." She felt like she was on fire and never wanted to stop.

He moved down her body until he was lying between her thighs. He cupped her butt and tasted the essence of her making Jude cry out again. Her fingers clenched in his hair.

His warm tongue felt amazing sliding in and out of her slowly. He worked around, up and down. He held her open as he picked up his pace. Her head crashed back onto the pillow as her orgasm took her over.

Tommy kissed up her body letting recover. Jude didn't want her heart rate to steady, she wanted more. She pulled his face to her and met his lips. She drank him in as her hands went back to his erection. Her callused hands wrapped around him making him ache with his own need. "Oh god, Jude." He moaned burying his face in her shoulder.

"I need you, Tommy." She said desperately.

Tommy reached into the nightstand, and pulled out a little foil package. He looked into her eyes making sure there were no doubts. All he saw was passion. He quickly rolled on the condom, and her legs parted to cradle him between her thighs.

He began to ease himself into her, letting her get used to the feel of him. She felt him open her, stretching her, making a place for himself in the very heart of her. Her body clenched in reaction. Tommy forced himself slowly past her barrier. Jude felt him climb higher and higher with in her until she was full.

"We fit perfect." Tommy said in to ear. She felt amazing wrapped around him. It had been so long, and his control was slipping fast. He kissed her deeply and started a slow rhythm.

She couldn't believe the pleasure that ran through her body when the pain subsided. She ran her fingers through his hair. Her hips began to meet his with every thrust. Her moans were muffled by his kisses.

The feeling of her under him and her hands roaming his back was a feeling he never wanted to go away. Her moans and sighs were driving him closer to the edge. He lost all rhythm feeling her tighten around him.

"Oh Tommy." Jude sighed clinging to him.

Tommy reached between their bodies. "Come with me, Jude." He said pressing her sensitive nub.

Jude screamed out and that it's self sent Tommy over as they climaxed together.

Tommy rested his forehead on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked. He could feel her nod not finding her voice. He pulled out and rolled over onto his back.

Jude laid there trying to catch her breath for a few seconds. "Wow. Why haven't we been doing that the whole time?"

"Because your dad would have sent me to jail." He said with a chuckle rolling over on his side to face her.

"Oh you would have gotten conjugal visits." He just gave her a disbelieving look. "You would have looked hot in an orange jump suit."

"Jude!"

"What? I'm kidding Tommy. But that was amazing. I love you so much." She couldn't help but cuddle into him. Sure she was young, but this was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life.

"You're amazing. And I love you, too." He said kissing her forehead before getting up and walking across the room towards the bathroom.

Jude couldn't help but smirk watching him. He was not shy one bit, and she was holding the sheet to her bare chest. It was unbelievable he was hers. She stared at the ceiling completely in another world. She didn't even see him walk back to the bed blowing out the candles.

"Hey, where are you?" He asked crawling back into bed.

"Here. Where else would I be?" She asked placing her head on his chest.

"I think I will sleep better tonight than I have in a long time." He said wrapping his arm around her pulling her closer to him.

"Me too." She said before they both drifted off to sleep.

Jude woke up the next morning before Tommy. She was a bit sore, but it wasn't that bad. She'd loved every bit of it. She thought back on a time when she thought this would never happen because she didn't know if she'd ever see him again.

_She couldn't believe he left like that. No explanation, nothing. Her heart was breaking. She kept calling his cell, but he wouldn't pick up. Where could he be going that he didn't know when he'd be back? None of this made sense to her._

_Crawling into bed that night she couldn't stop crying. The day had started great. Her song was at number three, Darius fixed her mustang up for her, and she and Tommy were happy. Now she was going to bed heart broken because Tommy bailed. All she wanted to do was talk to him._

"_Jude, is everything okay?" Sadie asked coming in her room._

"_I'm fine." She said not turning around to face her._

"_You're not fine. I can hear you crying from my room. Did you have a fight with Tommy?"_

"_Tommy left tonight. He said he didn't know when he'd be back. Didn't tell me where he was going or anything."_

"_Oh Sweetie, I'm sure he'll call you and tell you what is going on. Maybe it was business." Sadie said hugging her._

_The next night at her album release party she was a mess._

"_You want a bottle of water, or some gum?" Sadie asked her. Sadie had been with her most of the day. They had talked to Kwest, and he didn't know Tommy had left town._

_Jude shook her head. "I can't go out there. I don't have it."_

"_You're nervous. You never get nervous, Jude. Look, Tommy will be back. He cares way too much to stay gone."_

"_Let me have a moment with her." Liam said walking in._

"_I'll be back, Jude. Okay."_

"_Right you've got fifteen minutes to turn that frown upside down."_

"_I'm sorry, I can't." She was useless with out Tommy._

"_Yes you can. This is your record release party. And I say what I will about you, but you always manage to perform."_

"_Do you know what happened yesterday with Tommy?"_

"_I'm going to say this gently and slowly. You are at work right now."_

"_I can't work without my producer."_

"_Well that is obvious, but Tommy, he chose to leave." Liam grabbed her arm. "Now look at me. You have 13.5 minutes to find me a rock star smile." He said and left._

_Jude decided if Tommy could just up and leave like he did, so could she. She went out the back alley to her car. She didn't want to perform and celebrate when her heart was so broken. She jumping her car and just started driving. While driving she decided to go where Mason was._

"_What are you doing here?" Mason asked when she walked into the bar he was playing._

"_I came to tell you… Uh… to break a leg."_

"_Did you also forget about your album release party about a hundred miles away?"_

"_What are the symptoms to a nervous breakdown? Because Tommy's disappeared and I don't know what to do."_

_Just then he was announced on the stage. "We'll talk, okay. As soon as I'm off the stage."_

"_Okay."_

"_Did you call your family?"_

"_Yes always." She lied._

"_Okay."_

"_Good luck." She said watching him go to the stage. _

_She called Sadie and told her where she was. Then she tried Tommy again, but still only got his voicemail. "You've reached me. Leave a message."_

"_Message 112. Me again…"_

_Just then a guy walked up to her. "It is you. Jude, Jude Harrison."_

_Jude flipped her phone shut._

"_I know you probably hate this, but can I get our picture?"_

"_Yeah, sure."_

_The rest of the night was a complete haze. The guy kept buying her drinks. She just wanted to forget the pain Tommy had caused. When she woke up the next morning, she couldn't even remember how she got to Mason's room._

Waking up being skin to skin with Tommy was so much better than that hang over she had back then.

"Morning." Tommy mumbled.

"Morning." Jude replied looking up at him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a completely satisfied man." He said running his hand up her bare back.

Jude buried her face in his chest and giggled.

"Oh no. No reason to be shy now." Tommy said playfully.

She rolled away from him, taking the sheet with her. "I gotta go to the bathroom."

"Okay." He said smirking.

She wrapped the sheet around her. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing. It's just you have such a beautiful body. Why cover it up."

"Because we have to get ready for work." She said before she bent down to kiss him quickly. "I'm going to jump in the shower."

"Okay. I'll make coffee." Tommy said getting up and grabbing his pajama pants. It was time for them to go back to the real world.

**Please Review**


	23. Chapter 23

**Next chapter is here. It may be my only update this week because I am almost caught up with what I have already written and typed. If I post once a week I won't get behind and you won't have to wait until the next chapter is finally finished. As usual I own nothing.**

Chapter 23

Nothing could make Tommy quit smiling. This was the life he wanted. Waking up every morning to Jude. He wished they didn't have to go to the studio, but Darius was getting back and they had to get the few samples they were able to get to him. He hoped Darius would give them the go ahead. Work was really the last thing on his mind because he kept replaying the previous night's events in his mind. He always heard people say sex was so much more when you were truly in love, and now he knew that to be true.

He was pouring their coffee when Jude walked in. "You looked refreshed." He commented handing her a mug.

"I was thinking you were going to join me." She said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah. If I had, we'd be back in bed and never make it to the studio today." He said cupping the side of her neck. He bent down and met her lips in a kiss.

The kiss was short because they both knew what could happen if it wasn't. Jude smiled brightly. "You better go get ready."

They worked most of the day mixing the song she recorded at the church. Every few minutes they would glance up at each other. G Major was the last place either of them wanted to be.

"D should be in soon. So, I'm going to go put this on his desk." Tommy said pushing away from the soundboard.

"Okay, I'm going to find Sadie."

"Did I hear my name?" Sadie asked walking in on cue.

Tommy kissed her quickly and left the room.

"So you spent two nights in a row at Tommy's. You want to tell me something?"

Jude shrugged. "We spent a week a part."

"And I guess you got a chance to finish what was started before Tommy went to Montreal."

Jude couldn't hold it in any longer. A huge smile spread across her face. "Maybe."

Tommy walked into Darius' office and a picture of Maya caught his eye. It made him think about when he was in Montana.

_When he got to Montana, he finally learned what Darius needed him to do. "Alright, D, I'm her. What is going on?" Tommy called him as soon as he stepped off the plane._

"_Write this address down. I've arranged for a rental for you."_

"_Stop with the cryptic shit. What the hell am I doing here?"_

"_I need you to take care of Maya. Kim's been drinking again. I need to convince her to get into rehab and turn custody of My over to me."_

"_And how do I play into this?"_

"_Kim has always had a soft spot for you. If you're the one taking care of Maya, then she is more likely to do the right thing."_

_Tommy couldn't really say he was wrong. Darius' ex-wife was reason Darius didn't kill him when he married Portia. He knew how Darius was about his business, and knew this was something he wanted dealt with discretion. That meant not telling Jude what was really going on._

_He got to the house and double-checked the address, before walking to the door and knocking. "Mr. Quincy, please come in. Mr. Mills called to let me know to expect you. Miss Kim is upstairs." The maid said letting him in the house._

_Tommy walked in the house. He could tell right off that Darius had bought this house. He saw a little girl about three or four. She was crying calling for her mommy._

"_Quincy, what the hell are you doing here?" He heard a voice behind him when he was walking toward Maya._

"_Kim." He said turning around._

"_Long time no see, Tom. You can turn around, and leave. Go tell that no good ex-husband of mine I'm not going in to rehab. And I got custody in the divorce."_

"_How are you any good for Maya if you are drinking all the time? Kim take it from someone who has been in her shoes. You've got to get help. Do you want to do something you'll regret one day?" Tommy finally understood why Darius really sent him. He knew about Tommy's childhood._

"_I would never hurt my little girl."_

"_Come on Kim. When you're drunk you don't know what you could do."_

"_Who's gonna take care of her? Huh? Darius can't just take her to Canada with out being awarded custody."_

"_That's what I'm here for. I'll stay here until Darius can take over custody. But Kim it is important you get sober."_

_Just then his cell phone rang. He looked down and saw Jude's picture. She'd been calling non-stop since he left her._

"_Don't let me stop you from answering that." She said sarcastically._

_Tommy ignores the call and Kim. He turned to look at Maya. She looked scared and sad. He knew that feeling all to well. He squatted down to her level. "Hi Maya, my name is Tommy."_

"_Hi." She said between her sniffles._

"_Why don't you go play while I talk to your mom."_

"_Okay."_

_Tommy got back up and turned to Kim. She was pouring a drink. "See that right there is why I'm here. Kim, you need help. She doesn't need to see you like this."_

"_You know I always liked you. When you married Portia, I stood up for you. Darius wanted to kill you. Now you're going to come into my home and tell me what I'm going to do?"_

"_I believe Darius still pays the bills around here."_

"_Why don't you just go back to your little girlfriend in Toronto. And I will stay here taking care of my daughter."_

"_I don't know what you are talking about. I'm staying here until you do what is best for her."_

"_Please, everyone can see through your little story of just being friends with Jude Harrison. I knew you always liked them young."_

"_Jude has nothing to do with this. Look I grew up with an alcoholic mother. It will only hurt Maya in the long run. Kim, you know if you don't go willingly, Darius will just have to make you go. Do you want it to get ugly?"_

"_She's my baby, Tom. What's gonna happen to her?"_

"_Like I said, I will stay here with her until she can cross the border. Then Darius will take care of her. You get sober, I'm sure D will let you see her."_

"_Call him, tell him I will go." She said putting her drink down._

_It had been two weeks since Kim went into rehab, and Tommy was still in Montana. Maya seemed to warm up to him pretty quick. It made him even think about having kids one day. Jude still called everyday, and he still ignored her calls. When he needed to hear her voice, he'd listen to her messages._

"_So, D, you know when I can come home yet?"_

"_They are still checking everything. I have the best lawyers on the case. Everything should go through soon enough."_

"_How are my artists?" It was the only way he could ask about Jude with out coming right out with it._

"_The ones still working an material are working with Kwest. The other one is hysterical. Look T, thank you for keeping this quiet. I don't want this to get out."_

"_No problem, D."_

_That afternoon when Maya was taking a nap, he decided to call Jude. If she was as bad as Darius said, he needed to ease her mind. He couldn't handle her thinking he ran out on her._

"_Tommy?" She answered._

"_Hey Girl."_

"_Where are you? What's going on? Are you okay?" Her questions were all jumbled together._

"_Jude, slow down. I can't exactly tell you where I am. I'm taking care of some business. And I'm fine. I just miss you." He hoped she wouldn't be too mad._

"_I don't understand. One minute we are supposed to go out than you bolt, and say you don't know when you'll be back."_

"_I know something came up. I'm sorry I haven't called you back before now. What I'm taking care of is taking all my time."_

"_Do you know when you'll be home?"_

"_Not yet." He heard Maya crying from her room. "I gotta go, but I'll call you as soon as I can. I love you, and I promise I'll be home and I'll make it up to you."_

"_Okay. I love you."_

He was lucky he didn't loose her then. They made it through, and still going strong. He was getting excited about her birthday. One week and everything he'd been planning would be put into motion.

When he walked back into Studio A, Sadie was walking out. She had a sly smile on her face. He couldn't help but just shake his head. Girls always talked too much.

"So, I was thinking we could maybe get pizza and stay in tonight." He said wrapping his arms around Jude.

"Can't. Sadie wants to have a girls night out."

"Didn't you see her enough while I was gone?" He playfully pouted.

"No, she still had her boyfriend in town remember? We're just going to dinner and movie. I can come over afterwards."

"I'll be waiting." He said holding her closer to him.

**There you go. I always hated how season two ended, and I really think the writers had no clue what they were going to do for season 3. I decide to divulge deeper into why Tommy was sent to Montana. Hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	24. Chapter 24

**So here is the next chapter. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I am excited for her birthday coming up because my ideas for what he has planned are definitely falling into place. Of course it wouldn't be a Jude birthday without a bit of drama. Stay tuned.**

Chapter 24

Jude and Sadie went to dinner, but she couldn't quit thinking about Tommy. Wondering what he was doing. She love hanging out with Sadie, but she really wanted to be with him. The previous night opened up a whole new world for her with him.

"So, are you all excited about your party next week?" Sadie's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Can't wait. It's going to be my first official public appearance with Tommy. Finally I can show the world he is mine."

"It's been a long wait, baby sis."

"Sadie I never thought we'd really make it. I hoped, but you know. He's Tommy Q, but I have never been happier."

"Good. So, you want to skip the movie, and I will drop you off at his place?"

"No Sadie, tonight is about us."

"I know that look. You should be with him. You were miserable with out him for a week."

"Thanks, Sadie."

One the way to his place, she couldn't help but think about when he got home from Montana.

_Tommy had been gone a couple of months. After his first phone call, he called twice every week. He still wouldn't tell her what he was taking care of, but at least she was able to hear his voice. Now it had been two weeks since his last call, and he was still not answering hers._

_It was time for the annual Instant Star competition, and Jude wanted to distance herself from it. She wanted to make a real career for herself. She was amazed when Darius agreed to not include her into the finale. She was ready to be Jude Harrison, star, not Jude Harrison, Instant Star. Since Tommy had been gone she didn't have much to be excited about, but this made her really excited._

"_He said yes! Darius! Yeas to me! Jamie? Hello?" She had to share her good news. _

"_Sorry Jude. It's just when Liam bailed, guess who got asked to clean up his mess." About a week after Jude's album release Liam had disappeared._

"_Oh any news?"_

"_Official word is that he's running the South American division."_

"_And the unofficial word?"_

"_Went snaky. Took off to go find himself. Think he is in Paraguay or Uruguay. One of the guays."_

"_Well, stick with me kid. I'm blasting off on a whole new phase. Nothing can keep me down."_

_Jamie gave her a look and walked away._

"_Whitney Houston we have a problem." Sadie said walking up to her. She handed her a big envelope._

_Jude was freaking out. The envelope was full of pictures of her from the night she joined Mason on tour. She was drunk and half passed out. She had her clothes on, but the pictures still looked bad. The guy was also threatening to send them to the press if she didn't send him fifty thousand dollars. She didn't want this to get out. Darius was always on her case for her stupid mistakes. She needed Tommy._

"_Jude Harrison. I'm so thrilled to finally meet you. I was hoping you could…"_

"_Karma." Jude interrupted her. "You were really good on Instant Star last night. But I'm really sorry this is sort of a bad time for me. Okay." Her mind was so consumed that she couldn't really think straight._

"_Hey ego trip. Handle all your fans that way?" Spied stopped her when she walked away from Karma._

"_I'm a little freaked right now. I got a lot of things on my mind."_

"_So you can't take a few seconds?"_

"_What am I gonna say to her?"_

"_I don't know. You've been where she is. The dice rolls, she's either a star or nobody. Maybe you have forgotten where you come from. _

_She really hated that coming from Spied. Her phone rang before she could think more about it. It was exactly who she needed. "Tommy, thank God. It's been two weeks."_

"_Hey. How are you?"_

"_How am I? How am I, you were calling me every week twice a week, and then your calls stopped."_

"_Judging by Instant Star last night, I'd say you're right on your game."_

"_You saw that?"_

"_Uh, Jude Harrison night? I might have cleared my schedule for it."_

"_When are you coming home?"_

"_Soon enough."_

"_Tommy, I serious. I need you to help me."_

"_Look what ever is going down, you can handle it. You've got instincts."_

"_My instincts didn't catch you'd take off."_

"_Look my business is almost finished. I'll explain everything when I get back. I promise."_

_Being able to talk to Tommy really helped soothe her nerves. She felt bad about the way she treated Karma. The next day she took her to the rehearsal space to blow off steam._

_She thought she was being nice, so later that day when she found out the Karma ran to Darius about the blackmailing scheme, she was pissed. Darius said he'd take care of it on one condition, Jude perform at the Instant Star finale. She didn't want to, but really had no choice._

_That afternoon, she had a fitting with Portia. "I know you think D id being a beast, but he's worried for you."_

"_I still can't believe those photos showed up."_

"_That is nothing compared to the stuff Tommy used to pull." Portia said laughing. _

"_Really?"_

"_Okay, outrageous rock star 101: stolen limos, putting an octopus in the hotel pool, and one time he did a strip tease in front of the Junos. And I married the guy."_

"_Yeah ages ago."_

"_Yeah well we shared something pretty hard to forget."_

_Jude wondered what Portia meant by that, but when she asked, Portia changed the subject. It was strange because she thought she knew everything there was to know about their marriage. She knew Tommy cheated on her with Angie, and that Angie died in a car wreck when Tommy wouldn't leave his marriage. Now she wondered if Tommy had been keeping something else from her._

_Backstage at the finale she was trying her best not to be nervous. She hadn't performed on stage since the night Tommy left. She wasn't sure if she could do it with out him. She saw him walk around the corner, and at first thought she was seeing things._

_She smiled and he smiled back. "Jude."_

"_About time super star." All she wanted to do was jump into his arms. She didn't care who was around or who would see them. She thought he looked better that she remembered. Then she saw a little girl with him. She watched as the little girl ran to Portia._

"_There's our girl." She heard Portia say and picked her up._

_Jude felt like she couldn't breath. She thought back to what Portia had said earlier about them sharing something hard to forget. She turned back to see Tommy smiling. "Oh this is rich. I can't believe it."_

"_Jude, you don't know what you are talking about." But she wouldn't let him explain. She rushed to her dressing room. How could he keep something like this from her? How could he profess his love for her when keeping a secret like this?_

_She wanted to scream. Tears fell form her eyes as she threw everything from her make up counter into the floor. She felt foolish for falling in love with him and believing he loved her._

"_Jude." Tommy said from the doorway._

"_How could you? I believed you when you said you loved me. If you loved me so much you would have told me you had a kid."_

"_Jude, she's not mine."_

"_Really?" she asked sarcastically. "Then why did you disappear for two months, then you show up with her. And the first person she ran to was Portia? Huh? Why?"_

"_She's Portia's niece. D's her father not me. He didn't want me to tell anyone where I was because it was his business."_

"_So, she's really not yours and Portia's?"_

"_No I promise. Why don't you go perform your heart out, and then we'll talk. I'll explain everything. We could go back to my place."_

_She shook her head. Maybe she wasn't his, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being betrayed. "I need time to process everything. I'm going home alone tonight. Maybe another night."_

_She went out and did a flawless performance. She tried to push all thoughts out of her mind. She didn't want to think about the pictures, Tommy, or Darius always cornering her into stuff. All she wanted to think about was her song._

_She wanted to set herself apart from what everybody saw her as. She knew there would be a backlash, but like she told Darius she was a pro now. So, while she walked home in the rain, she decided to post the pictures on her web site._

Thinking back she was glad she didn't just open her arms to Tommy. She had needed him to fight to hold on to her. She really believed that was what made them the couple they now were.

Tommy was bored. He thought about calling Kwest, but didn't. He wished his girl were with him. If it were up to him, they'd spend the next few days leading up to her birthday in his bed. He walked to the kitchen to grab a beer, when there was a knock on his door.

He opened the door and chuckled. "What happened to dinner and a movie with your sister?" He asked seeing Jude on the other side of the door.

"We had dinner. Just decided to skip the movie." She said walking in. "So, what have you been doing?" She turned to face him.

"Wishing you were here." He said putting his hands on her hips.

"I'm here now." She responded with a smile wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yes you are." He said before capturing her lips in a sweet longing kiss. He felt like he hadn't kissed her in ages when it only has been since that morning.

Jude was the one to deepen the kiss by running her tongue across his lips as he was backing her towards the couch. The back of her legs hit the side of the couch, and he lifted her up to sit on the arm never leaving her lips. He stepped between her legs and dug both hands into her messy blonde hair.

Jude moaned into his mouth, and lost her balance. She fell backwards onto the couch with Tommy tumbling after her. She couldn't help but laugh. "Oops."

"Yeah, oops." Tommy laughed and started tickling her.

"Tommy, stop." She said between giggles.

"Don't think so."

"Please. I'll do anything." She tried to wiggle out of his grip.

"Anything?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yes." She said still in fits of giggles.

He got down so he could talk into her ear. "Say Tom Quincy is a sex god." His voice was raspy and sent chills all over her.

"I don't know. One time doesn't give me enough to go on." She said grinning before he attacked her sides again.

"Okay. Okay, Tom Quincy is a sex god."

"You better believe it." He said before meeting her in a mind-blowing kiss.

After a couple of minutes he pulled back and studied her face. "What?" She asked.

"We didn't talk this morning."

"About?"

"Last night." He was so serious.

"Tommy last night was perfect. It was everything I could have wanted and more. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"So why don't we go up and you can prove to me how much of a sex god you really are?"

He jumped up and carried her to the stairs as quickly as possible.

**Please Review.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Tommy woke up the next morning to an empty bed. He rolled over and saw Jude rummaging through his closet. He laughed to himself at the site of her. She was standing there in nothing but her black boy shorts. "Jude, what are you doing?" Sleep still evident in his sleep.

"I'm looking for my favorite hoodie. Did you know you had clothes missing?"

"What are you talking about? And why do you need a hoodie? Just come back to bed."

"I want coffee."

"Why? You're never up this early."

"I have a song idea that I want to start on."

"Fine only on one condition."

"And what may that be?" She asked finally turning around.

He was amazed at the site in front of him. "We work from here today." He said throwing his tee shirt at her. "And just wear that."

"Okay." She said smiling and skipped out of the room.

"Bring me a cup, too." He yelled before grabbing a pillow and putting it over his face. Of course he knew there were clothes missing out of his closet, but he wasn't going to tell her why yet. He reached for his phone

"Good morning, G Major."

"Sadie, hey. Look Jude and I are going to work out side the studio today. So, if D needs us we will be at my place."

"Uh huh. Late night?" She asked suggestively.

"You girls talk entirely too much." He said laughing.

"Whatever like you didn't run to tell Kwest everything."

"Actually I haven't told Kwest anything. Oh and can you tell Karma I'll be back tomorrow."

"Sure. Have fun today."

He was hanging up the phone when Jude was walking back in. "I'm sure I will."

"Will what?"

"Your sister says to have fun today."

"Fun later, song now." Jude said handing him his coffee. She crawled in the bed and sat with her journal.

Tommy propped himself up on his elbow and just watched her. He thought about after he came back from Montana.

_He loved being back home sleeping in his own bed. It was where he wanted to stay until Jude decided to forgive him. He knew all along he should have gone against Darius' wished and told her the truth from the beginning, but he didn't. Now he was wallowing in his bed._

_He could see how she thought Maya was his, but he never expected her to reject him after finding out she wasn't. He wondered if something else was going on with her. He reached for his phone. He really hoped she would answer, but all he got was her voice mail. "Hey girl. I know you are not ready to talk but I wanted you to know that I love you and I will do what ever to make this up to you."_

_He didn't want to get up and go to G Major. It was Darius' fault he was in this situation. He knew sitting and moping wasn't going to get Jude to talk to him. _

_G Major was all a buzz, but it wasn't about the new Instant Star. "What is going on?" He asked a random sound tech. He handed him one of the daily tabloids. There was a whole spread on Jude. She looked drunk. The article said the pictures were posted on her web site._

_He didn't know what to think about everything so he went to Darius. "D, what the hell is going on?"_

"_Don't worry about it, T. I have it under control. Jude is joining Karma's press conference in a few minutes."_

"_That doesn't answer my question. When were these taken, and why in on earth were they on her web site?"_

"_She ran off the night of her record release party. She put them on there herself because as usual she doesn't let me take care of everything."_

"_Okay that doesn't make any sense. What are you not telling me?"_

"_T, like I said, don't worry about it. It is being handled." Tommy's brain was on over load. How could he not worry? His girlfriend was laid out looking wasted in a tabloid, and apparently she put the pictures on her web site. Where had she run off to? And why did the pictured even exist? What all did he miss. He went to his office because he needed to think. What had him leaving done to her? What else could he blame Darius for?_

_He watched the press conference from a far. He wanted to see what explanation she was going to give her fans. Maybe if he had told her everything, she wouldn't be going through all of this._

_Listening to Karma's speech in the press conference, he realized they were about to have a whole new set of problems. "Thanks, Jude. For the record when I look at these photos, I see a talented musician who isn't afraid to be real, and a tough act to follow. Of course Jude and I are different. She is into heavy riffs and punk influences, where I have a soft spot for power ballads. And I'm a virgin."_

"_So, Jude, you're not?" A reporter asked._

_Jude didn't answer one way or the other. Tommy felt like crawling in a hole. He could just imagine Darius firing him, Sadie kicking his ass, and Stuart killing him, and he hadn't done anything. He slipped in his office before anyone could look at him._

_When he finally ventured out of his office, he met Jude walking through. "Hey." He wasn't sure if she would talk to him yet. "That was, um, an interesting press conference. Falsely revealing."_

"_Yeah speaking of revealing, I thought you promised no more secrets."_

"_Oh here we go." He wished she could understand that he would have told her if he could._

"_You know. Forget it. I'm not going to take the bait from you either."_

_He just looked at her like she had three heads. "What?"_

"_I'm not going to get sucked into a fight. I am Zen. I am dignity."_

"_I am speechless." He wanted to know where his girlfriend was. Usually they would fight, and get it all out so they could go back to normal._

"_Yeah, well, that's because you never change, but I have. Tootles."_

_That sentence scared him more than anything. He didn't know what to think. Was she breaking up with him, or was it over when he left?_

_He decided he should try and concentrate on work, and stay out of Darius site. "Um, I'm just here to pick up my masters." He said walking into the studio Kwest was working in. _

"_You look confused man."_

"_Jude, the girls nuts."_

"_She's still not talking to you?"_

"_She's smiling. She's blank eyed. She refuses to engage."_

"_Well you've been away."_

"_I guess that's why you're producing the first Karma single?"_

_This started an argument with Kwest that later Tommy regretted. He knew he'd be working at the Bar Mitzvah. So, he went to apologize. He wasn't surprised to find Sadie with him. "Sorry to interrupt." He said finding them kissing. It made him jealous because it had been far too long since he felt Jude's velvet lips on his._

"_What are you doing here?" Kwest asked. _

"_Aren't you supposed to be working? Who's at the board?"_

"_Guys." Sadie interrupts then turns to look out the window. "Is that Jude?" She leaves._

"_You came all this way to ride me?" Kwest asked in an annoyed tone._

_Tommy realized he was still taking his frustration out on Kwest, and that wasn't his intention. "I came to apologize. The things I said at G Major were wrong. I'm just so frustrated."_

"_T, what did you expect? You were gone two months."_

"_Man I know that but D didn't want anyone to know. How was I supposed to tell her the truth? D was trusting me."_

"_Give her some time. You know she'll come around. She loves you."_

"_Guys, there's some serious on stage drama." Sadie came back in._

"_What?" Kwest and Tommy said at the same time._

"_Jude crashed. I think there might be a cat fight on stage."_

_They followed her out, and all they could do was stand there and watch everything play out. Jude said something to Karma then Patsy walked up and said something. She walked away as Karma said something. Patsy walked back and got in Karma's face, pushing her back into the cake. As Karma fell back she grabbed Jude's top and exposed her boob._

_Tommy was at the edge of the stage when she ran off. He wrapped his jacket around her, and led her out to his car._

"_Oh my god, Tommy." Jude said clearly still in shock._

"_Shh." He said trying to comfort her. He was thankful that she was letting him._

"_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She said wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest._

_Just then Sadie came out. "Jude, are you okay?"_

"_Take her to the rehearsal space. I will help Kwest load up and we'll meet you there." Tommy said to Sadie, but Jude seemed reluctant to let Tommy go. "Babe, go with your sister. I'll be there in a bit."_

"_Promise?" She said weakly._

_He cupped her face looking her straight in the eyes. "I promise."_

_When he and Kwest arrived at the rehearsal space, Jude and Sadie were sitting on the fire escape steps. "Hey." He said approaching her._

"_Hey." She no longer seemed frantic. She now seemed embarrassed. _

"_Can we go somewhere and talk?"_

"_Sure." They went up and sat on the couch._

"_So, it's been an interesting couple of days." Tommy commented turning to face her._

"_Yeah. Look about the press conference, I talked to my dad, and he's not coming after you or anything. I told him the truth."_

"_I'm not worried about that. The only thing I am worried about is loosing you."_

"_I can understand you not telling me everything. I know Darius was the reason you left. You know the whole time you were gone he acted like he had no clue where you were."_

_That's D for you. I wanted to tell you, but for Maya's sake, I needed him to continue to trust me."_

"_What happened to Maya's mom?"_

"_She's in rehab. D knew I could convince her it was best, since I knew what Maya was going through watching her mom drink."_

_"That makes sense."_

"_So what made you crash today? I thought you were Zen."_

"_I couldn't stand that it seemed like everyone was taking Karma's side. After the press conference it was like I was a whore. I guess crashing the party didn't help my image at all."_

"_Jude, you are anything but a whore." He said seriously. "I should know." He added with a smirk. He wanted to lighten the mood._

_She laughed and hit his shoulder. "I know."_

_They sat and talked for a long time. She let him in on what all happened while he was gone. He finally had all his questions answered about the pictures. "So what are you going to do about Darius?" He asked._

"_Grovel, I guess." She shrugged._

"_You are something else." He laughed and got serious again. "You know I missed you like crazy."_

"_Me too." She whispered before he leaned forward pressing his lips to hers for the first time in way too long."_

He couldn't help but smile watching her concentrate. He wondered how hard or easy it would be to disturb that concentration. Quickly he leaned up and kissed her neck lightly.

Jude knew what he was doing, but she was determined to hold him off until she was finished writing. She swatted him away, but he would come right back. She had to admit to herself that it was quite tempting considering he was still completely naked under the covers. But she needed to get this idea out of her head first.

"Jude." He whined into her ear.

"Hmm?" She asked still writing.

"Can't that wait?" He asked pushing her hair behind her ear. He lingered letting her feel his breath on her neck.

"Can't you?" She laughed.

He considered her question, and what would be the best answer to give her. What would make her consider putting her journal down. Then he went a totally different route. He took the book and threw it in the floor. Before she could say a word, he pulled her to him and flipped them so he was hovering over her. "I waited two years." He said with a gleam of lust in his eyes.

She couldn't deny him when he put it that way. She giggled when he started kissing her neck again. "You're like an animal."

He pulled back to look at her. "Is that a good thing?"

"Oh a very good thing." She said pushing his chest so she could roll them over. She straddled his waist and pulled his tee shirt off that she was wearing.

Tommy definitely liked this side of her. He hooked his fingers on either side of her boy shorts pulling them down her hips. She shifted, helping him pull them off completely. She leaned down to kiss him. He pulled her as close as possible as their tongues danced together. They were both driving the other crazy with their slow actions.

Jude reached in to the nightstand before leaving his lips. She places the foil package on his chest before leaning down again. She was still unsure about things, but she was trying to put up a brave front. She knew if she did something wrong, he would stop her. She lowered her head and licked his flat male nipples. They hardened into little points. Then she used her teeth to gently pull. He gave low moan that urged her on as she moved downward.

Tommy groaned at the feeling of her nipples running along his skin. He felt helpless under her. This was no longer his innocent Jude. He'd definitely woken up her sexual side. He felt her nails, teeth, and tongue exploring every inch of his body.

She knelt between his legs settling over his hard length. She gave him a quick glance before lowering her head. She opened her lips to take him in. She teased at first, never taking him in fully. Her tongue swirled around the tip. She could feel him squirm beneath her.

Just as he was about to go mad and make her take him completely, her hand pulled on his balls and she took him to the back of her throat. He cursed as the intense pleasure ran through him. Her mouth held him tighly, moving in and out at a steady pace. Her name slipped from his lips as her suction grew harder, pulling him over the edge.

She could tell what she was doing to him, and it was making her crazy. She felt like she couldn't get enough of him. He exploded and she took all of him. She glanced up at him and his eyes were closed tightly. She kissed up his body again, and felt him respond almost immediately. She kissed him deeply feeling his rough hands rubbing her thighs.

She placed a hand on his chest telling him to stay where he was while bringing the foil package to her mouth. She ripped it open and quickly rolled it into place.

All Tommy could do was watch her. He had to admit he was enjoying Jude being in control. She was opening up and he couldn't wait to see where this would go. Her body was perfect sitting above him.

Finally Jude lowered herself onto him, taking him all the way to the hilt. She took a moment to enjoy the sensations of his body filling hers, stretching her, pressing her in all the right ways. She found herself wishing they could stay in his bed forever.

Tommy was drawing on her back and propped up on his elbow. She was on her stomach staring off into space. His movements stopped and she rolled over to face him.

"What are you thinking, Tommy Q?"

"About how much I love you." He said tucking her hair behind her ear."

"I love you too." She said smiling.

"How about that song you were working on?"

"It can wait."

** This chapter was difficult for a couple different reasons. The flash back was hard to turn around to fit my story line, but I think it turned out pretty good. The other reason is I am hoping that the sex is not changing the tone of the story. Maybe I am over thinking it all. Hope you enjoy. As usual, I own nothing.**


	26. Chapter 26

I own nothing

Chapter 26

It was nice to have a day in, but when they went back to work, it was back to the hustle and bustle of regular life. Jude wished they could spend everyday out of G Major; she had to keep reminding herself that she was not Tommy's only artist. He had to work with Karma also.

Life sure got interesting after Karma won the third season of Instant Star.

_Sadie had just taken her to the rehearsal space from the Bar Mitzvah. She couldn't believe she been exposed that way. Why did she stoop to Karma's level? She was supposed to take the high road._

"_Quite a show." Sadie said as they were sitting on the fire escape steps._

"_Oh my god. Everyone saw… my boobs." Embarrassment was laced in her voice._

"_Just one of them." Sadie offered._

"_Dignity."_

"_Huh, then what do you call lefty?"_

_She laughed she knew her sister was trying to help. "No, dignity was my mantra. As the new Jude. The one that doesn't stoop to Karma's level or wrestle in cake."_

"_Here's what I don't understand, why you didn't get up and deny what Karma said?"_

"_Because it's none of anyone's business."_

"_Right dignity. So have you?"_

"_Sadie."_

"_What? I'm your sister. I have the right to know." She said pushing her with her shoulder playfully."_

"_Nope. It hasn't happened yet."_

"_So what are you waiting for?"_

_Luckily Tommy and Kwest got there and Jude didn't have to answer that question. She felt better after talking to Tommy. She knew she was just being stubborn, and she wasn't ready to give him up. He didn't seem to be holding it against her._

_The next day she had to make sure Darius wasn't furious with her. "Before you say anything, I stand by my decision to crash Bar Mitzvah." She told him. "I got dumped for all the wrong reasons. Which, I think I proved. Before I flashed a bunch of kids."_

"_Yeah that was interesting." Darius didn't seem too interested._

"_So what now? You going to force me to Apologize to Gary's dad?"_

"_Why? He's a happy man." Jude felt like she barely recognized Darius._

"_Are you serious?"_

"_His kid got what he wanted, the party of the year. Two dueling divas. They'll be talking about this for decades."_

"_Yeah, Jude Harrison, boobgate."_

"_Wardrobe malfunction. Learn to spin." Just then Maya was brought in. "Hey there's my girl."_

_Jude watched how Darius beamed while talking to her. She could tell she was his world. "She's cute." She commented._

"_Yeah thank goodness for T going to get her. He was the only one I could trust."_

_That was when she knew she was right for dropping the subject and forgiving Tommy. "Oh D, before you go. Karma was wrong at the press conference. I didn't see why the media needed to know my virginity was still intact."_

_Darius just nodded and left. Even though they weren't openly together in front of him, she knew Darius wasn't stupid. She needed the right people to know the truth so they didn't take anything out on Tommy._

_She went to find Tommy. It wasn't hard because she knew how much he missed working. He was in Studio B. "I talked to Darius."_

"_And? Did you have to promise your first born?"_

"_No, apparently everyone was happy. I'm so glad it was at my expense."_

"_It will blow over."_

"_Really? Darius thinks it will be talked about for decades."_

"_You know all of this just got complicated again."_

"_I told Darius in so many words that you've been honorable." She said with a hint of laughter._

"_What about the press? It's not hard for them to realize you are with me."_

"_In a few weeks I'm turning eighteen."_

"_Yeah."_

_Tommy was wrong about one thing, it didn't blow over, it was on the front of every tabloid the next day. She was mortified because when she got to G Major, it was what everyone was reading. She hoped hiding in one of the studios would work._

"_Feeling overexposed?" Tommy's voice said from behind her._

"_Tell me you got that for the Botox ads." Of all people she thought he'd ignore it._

"_Gotta keep up with current events."_

"_You were there. You're supposed to be my protective boyfriend. This is completely wrecking my nice girl image."_

"_I never thought you were that nice. Definitely weren't last night."_

_Jude blushed at the though of their intense make out session the night before. Tommy had excused himself to take a shower before taking her home._

"_Besides you're talking to the guy who woke up dead center in the Strawberry Fields Memorial in Central Park surrounded by camera clicking tourists." Tommy continued._

"_Sound pretty PG."_

"_Butt naked." He said scratching his neck._

"_No way!" The first idea in Jude's head was she'd love to see those pictures._

"_Way! Only one thing to do under the circumstance."_

"_Say cheese?"_

"_Use it. Channel it into your song writing."_

"_You want me to write a song about my boob?" She asked thinking he was insane._

"_Could be a hit."_

"_Shut up."_

"_Or I could write a song about it." She wanted to wipe that smirk off his face._

_Just then someone knocked on the glass beckoning him, and he started collection his stuff._

"_I do have something bouncing around."_

"_Oh"_

"_In my head, pervert."_

"_Well definitely come see me later. I have a proposition for you." He said smiling as he got up. He bent down and kissed her quickly and was gone._

_Jude wanted this over. She just wanted to focus on starting her next album. All of the publicity surrounding her was making her father question Darius on how he was handling her career. Darius assured him G Major would show her nothing but respect. _

_After her meeting, she wanted to go work with Tommy. She wanted to forget all the drama and work on a song. She was having a problem with part of the song in her head, and knew Tommy could help._

"_When she found him, he was with Karma. It looked like they were flirting. "What's this?" She asked opening the door._

"_Tommy's teaching me how to press his buttons." Karma answered her._

"_Oh." She said and gave Tommy a look. He just gave her an iffy one back. "You wanted to talk about my new song?"_

"_Not a new one." He stated and flipped on the stereo._

"_Yeah, that's Karma's version of Waste My Time. I've heard it."_

"_I think the whole world should hear it. Released as an official cover."_

"_Tommy said it's gonna be my first mega hit." Karma said. "Our first mega hit." She added as she placed her hand on Tommy's shoulder._

_This flew all over Jude. The girl that made her look like a fool and a whore had her hand on her boyfriend. It took everything she had not to knock Karma down a couple of notches. "You're producing Karma?"_

"_Yeah. Jude having another artist record your song, it's a compliment."_

"_Sure, Tommy." It pissed her off that he would even think for a minute that she'd be happy about this. He was giving her a confused look. She looked at Karma then back at Tommy, and walked out before she said something she'd regret._

_She went to make some tea. She thought maybe she just needed to calm down. It wasn't like she had an exclusive lock on Tommy professionally. It was just Karma that bugged her. She didn't want to seem like a jealous girlfriend. She never played that roll._

"_Can we call a cease fire?" Tommy asked waving a white napkin._

"_How long have you known?"_

"_Uh, Darius put me on Karma's album this morning. He needs to release a single fast before the Instant Star glow fades."_

"_Right. What ever it's not like I own you." She meant it, but not completely. It made her skin crawl to think of Tommy working closely with Karma. "But hang on to your clothes. She likes to rip them off." She had to remind him of what she did to her._

"_You know where I'd rather be, any day of the week." He said, and she thought she recognized her boyfriend again. He leaned in and she thought he was going to kiss her right there in the middle of hospitality, but he took her mug and walked away._

_She knew she had his heart and she could trust him. She needed to just face the facts that he's be working with someone new. She needed help with lyrics, so she went to her band. Talking to them, she found out Karma would need her permission to record her song. She decided to use that as leverage against Karma._

_That seemed to work until the next day when Tommy was livid. "Karma told Darius she didn't want me on her album anymore, and I'm pretty damn sure you had something to do with it."_

"_You said you'd rather work with me. I was doing you a favor." _

"_I was trying to soften the blow."_

"_You lied?"_

"_I handled you."_

"_I don't need handled, thanks." Sometimes she wondered how they were even together._

"_Right because you are so unpossessive and low maintenance."_

"_This coming from a guy who calls in sick on bad hair days."_

"_You want to know the truth? Here it is. I had to beg for this gig. I wanted to try something new. Grow a little, but I guess you are the only one around here that gets to do that." He walked away before she could respond. _

_She could understand where he was coming from. Of course he wanted to grow in his career like her, but why with Karma? That bothered her the most. She wished she could state her claim, but knew she couldn't. Karma would have to figure out on her own about them. But she did want to do the right thing for Tommy. So a girl-fight photo shoot later, and Tommy was back on Karma's album._

_Jude thought everything would just go back to normal. Tommy would work with Karma, and they could go forward, but apparently Tommy felt differently._

"_Uh somehow I am back on Karma's album." He said when she ran into him out side._

"_I thought that is what you wanted. Oh my god! Can you like wave your arms in the air or something when you're lying?"_

"_I do not need your help."_

"_Well maybe I was trying to be a good girlfriend, huh? Ever thought about it that way? You wanted to expand your horizons, great. But you wanted to expand with the one person who called me a whore. Sorry I took it personally. But I'm trying to step up from that. And since you won't help me with my song, I will go find someone else who will." She stormed away form him. They were always hot and cold and she wasn't sure it was even worth it._

_She decided she wanted a lot more to say in her new album, and if Tommy was going to be busy with Karma, she wanted to take matters into her own hands. She and the guys recorded a demo that she arranged herself. It was rough, but Darius seemed to like it._

_Sitting on her front steps the next morning, she thought about her meeting with Darius. He's gone over a list of producers who would love to work with her. She was flattered, but heart told her Tommy was the only one she wanted to work with._

_They were going on two years together, and she didn't want to give that up. Sometimes they were both too stubborn. She looked up and saw him in front of her house. "So you are up before noon to yell at me?"_

"_Can we take a break from the yelling. I saw your cover photos."_

"_What'd you think?"_

"_No comment." He said getting out of the car. "Just for the record, we didn't need your permission to record Waste My Time."_

"_Just for the record, I'm not high maintenance."_

"_And I don't skip work on bad hair days. I never have them." He said smugly. "Karma's album's not going to take that long."_

"_Karma!" Jude sighed still frustrated. She still felt like Tommy didn't see why this bothered her so much. _

"_Look, Jude It's not personal. You're my girl, but I need this professionally. I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere."_

"_I know, but Tommy why do we fight like this? Is all of this worth it?"_

"_Jude, you are worth everything to me. I love you. And who I work with doesn't change that. It never will."_

"_I love you too. I just get so caught up sometimes you know. I like having you to myself, but I understand. That's why I want to bring in someone to work with you, since you will be so busy."_

"_A co-producer. You got someone in mind?"_

"_Yeah, me."_

_Tommy smiled at her, and she remembered why it was all worth it; the butterflies in her stomach. She always got them when he smiled at her. He was leaning in, so she met him in a kiss that sealed their new partnership._

Jude could hardly believe that was just a few weeks ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Hey space cadet." Tommy said bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hey. Are you and Karma done?"

"Just on a break. She got a phone call." He said off handedly.

"Oh she's not the only one doing that lately. You don't think… No." Jude was rambling on.

"What?"

"I think Spied and Karma are secretly together." She said in awe. "Ew." She added.

"Well if they are, they're so better at secret relationships than we are." He said smirking.

"Yeah we're not good at that, but in a few days it won't matter. I can't wait to be eighteen.

Tommy just shrugged. "Not much will change." He tried to hide his smile.

Jude hit his shoulder. "Shut up." She laughed.

"You wound me Harrison."

"You better get back to drama. Oh I mean Karma."

"Be nice."

**Okay. I realize this is just a filler chapter, but I promise the next chapter you will not want to miss. Finally some insight to what Tommy has planned for her birthday. Keep the reviews coming.**


	27. Chapter 27

Sorry for the delay. My weekend got busy. Enjoy. I own nothing.

Chapter 27

Three days before her birthday and Tommy was freaking out. He always thought he'd have plenty of time to get everything ready, but he hadn't expected her to be staying with him as much as she was. Not that he was complaining since it was what he wanted in the long run. He just had to do things a bit more slyly. At the moment Jude was taking a relaxing bath, so he was taking his free time to work on his closet. This time he was trying to move out clothes she might not go looking for. He thought back to when he knew what he wanted to do for her birthday.

_They were sitting on her front step. She'd just told him she wanted to be his co-producer. He couldn't think of a better person to help produce her third album. She was tinkering on her guitar._

_He knew he'd been a total jackass over the last couple of days. He should have told her up front that he wanted to work with Karma. To stay at the top of his game, he was gonna have to expand to different genres. He knew she'd understand in the long run._

"_I have to go work with Karma, but I want to take you somewhere tonight." He said standing up._

"_Okay,"_

"_I'll pick you up at six."_

"_I'll be waiting."_

"_Good. Dress casual."_

_While watching Karma through the glass, he realized how much he wasn't going to get to see Jude. Working on her last album, his time hadn't been divided. This was going to be interesting for their relationship. He was torn because he wanted this professionally, but personally it was going to pull their time apart. He thought about how she'd be eighteen soon, and be finished with school._

"_How was that?" Karma's flirty voice came through the speaker._

_He realized he hadn't heard a word she sang. "Let's do one more take." He tried to stay focused._

_When she finished that take she came out and sat down beside him. "I'm so glad you wanted to work with me. Jude must be such a prude to work with all the time."_

"_Jude and I work well together." He said in a tight voice._

"_But she is always hovering. It's like she thinks she has an exclusive lock on you." She placed her hand on his arm and batted her eyelashes._

"_Karma, you know Jude and I are together, right?" Tommy wanted to stop this before it went any farther._

_Karma seemed baffled. "You can't be serious." He voice was disbelieving. _

"_I think we got all the takes we need. I will mix this tomorrow, and we'll get it to Darius." Tommy really didn't want to be there any longer than he had to._

_He thought about getting Jude flowers, but she was never that girl. Half the time she hated that he paid for everything. He wanted to show her that the last almost two years have been worth everything to him. Her birthday was coming up and he had no clue what he was getting her. He couldn't buy her a guitar every year._

_Something in a window caught his eye, and he couldn't help but stare. It was perfect. It was insane, but perfect. It was unique and beautiful just like Jude. He could already picture it on her finger. Marriage had never really come up, though he knew he never wanted to be with out her._

_But the ring wasn't enough. He needed something that showed her that he was serious. Something that went deeper than their music connection. He remembered when he was a kid and his Ma Mere would always walk around the kitchen singing. She always had beautiful jewelry, and when she passed away, she left him and his brother pieces that were to be given to their wives. Of course he's never thought about that with Portia. He knew Jude was the real deal. He looked at his watch and noticed the time. He had an hour to pick up Jude._

_Walking out of the jewelry store, he tucked the black box in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed and got a voicemail message. "Tristian, it's Tom. I know it's been awhile, but I was hoping you'd send me the necklace Ma Mere left me. Thanks. Bye." He flipped the phone shut and took a deep breath. He was really doing this. _

_She was waiting in the exact spot he left her that morning. "You ready?"_

"_Where are we going?" She asked eagerly getting in the car._

"_That's a surprise." He said handing her a single rose. He couldn't stop himself. He hoped she wouldn't be able to notice that something was on his mind._

_He drove in silence, holding her hand. Every few minutes he would glance over at her to see what her expression was. Most of the time she was looking straightforward smiling._

"_Where are we going?" She asked after he'd left the city._

"_You know before I left for Montana, I was going to ask your dad if I could take you away for a weekend."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. There's this perfect B&B. The rooms are fabulous. You can get a suite with two bedrooms and a huge living room. The room service is the best. You don't have to leave the room to get a five star meal." He smiled glancing over at her._

"_You're taking me to a bed and breakfast? But I don't have clothes for tomorrow."_

"_We're not staying the night. Just dinner. It will be set up when we get there."_

"_Tommy you shouldn't pay for a room that we're only going to be in for a few hours."_

"_It doesn't matter. I'd spend anything on you." He smiled over at her hoping she would just accept it. "Plus, I tried to reach your dad, but her was in meetings all day. So, I have to get you home tonight." That was when it clicked in his head. If she lived with him he wouldn't have to rush her home all the time._

"_I guess we'll just have to make the best of our time." She said putting her hand in his._

_He couldn't help but smile. He squeezed her hand and drove the rest of the way in silence. Tommy's mind was running so fast he thought his brain would explode. Was he ready for this? Sure he was, but the question really was, was Jude ready. Was this too much too fast for her eighteenth birthday? He would just have to wait and see._

_At the B&B, he checked them in, and dinner was ready when the walked into the suite. "Wow. Tommy this is beautiful." _

"_You like?"_

"_I love." She said before kissing him._

_They ate dinner just joking around with each other. It reminded Tommy of how comfortable they were together. He was sure they could make a life together._

"_So, how's that song you coming you were working on this morning?" He asked as they sat cuddled on the couch._

"_I'm still working on the chords. How was your day with Karma?"_

"_I missed you. I'm so sorry for not thinking about what me working with her would mean to you. I was up front with her about us. I wasn't going to sit around and let her flirt. There was no need." He told her._

"_Wow. You really have changed." She said with aww in her voice._

"_I think I changed the day you walked into my life."_

"_You know even though I had an attitude that first day, it was kind of exciting to think of working with you. I knew it would drive Sadie crazy. And who can deny you're hot."_

"_I knew you loved me for my looks." He said smirking._

"_That and so much more." She seemed a bit shy when she said that._

"_There's a lot I love you for too." He said before meeting her in a simple kiss, but with everything that had been on his mind, it got heated fast. He ran his tongue across her bottom lip, as she leaned more into him. He tried to hold on to some kind of control. It had been a long time since they'd talked about their physical relationship. He still didn't want it to go too far with out knowing where she stood on it. But it was hard to think when she was so close. He could feel her warm hands on his neck, and it was driving him crazy. Actually everything about her drove him crazy._

_He left her lips to move down her neck leaving open mouth kisses along the way. He pushed everything out of his mind and focused on Jude. He felt Jude's hands on his stomach under his shirt. She felt so good against his skin._

_He didn't know how long they were there, but when he pulled back to look at the time it was almost eleven. "Jude, I need to get you home." He said when he found his voice._

"_Why can't we stay?"_

"_Because we don't have a change of clothes, and I promised your dad I'd always get you home. I don't want to piss him off this close to your birthday." In his mind he didn't want to do anything wrong before he could have an important talk with her dad._

"_That was my mom, and a long time ago." She argued with him, and Tommy couldn't help but smile._

"_Babe, I made the same promise to your father."_

_Jude grunted but stood up. "Well, let's go then."_

"_Hey, I'll bring you back soon. Maybe after your birthday."_

"_Okay." She said smiling._

Now all he had to do was hope he pulled everything off. He worked quickly because Jude wasn't known to take long baths.

"Tommy." She called from the bathroom.

"What's up?" He asked opening the door. He was suddenly stunned. She was standing in the tub, dripping wet, and naked. He honestly couldn't remember seeing anything so beautiful.

"Could you hand me my towel? I was afraid I'd slip if I tried to get it."

He mutely nodded. His brain was incapable of forming words. It was like he was a teenage boy seeing his first naked girl.

Jude noticed and laughed. "Okay perv, you can leave." She winked at him before starting to dry off.

Tommy finally remembered his feet and left for the guest room again. He only had a couple minutes to close up the closet in there. With every minute he got more nervous for her birthday.

**There you go. Yes everyone was right that thought he was going to propose. Now the question is how will he do it, and what will Jude say. Or will something get in the way to where he can't ask at all. Please let me know what you think. Please Review.  
**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Jude couldn't help but laugh to her self when Tommy left the bathroom. She looked around and wished this were hers. Of course she had stuff everywhere, but it was still just Tommy's bathroom. Who was she kidding? Tommy had changed in the last two years, but moving in would be out of the question.

"So, Darius asked me an interesting question today." She said walking into the living room after she got dressed.

"What's that?"

"He asked if I had a new song to debut at my party."

"Well, do you? You were working on that one the other day."

"You distracted me. I haven't finished it yet."

That gave Tommy an idea. He'd been working on a song, but he wanted to make sure it was completely done before he played it for her. "Well, you still have a couple of days. Remember when you wrote seven songs in one night?"

"That was before I knew what it was like to get distracted." She said smirking.

"Oh really?" He said raising his eyebrows.

Before either could act on what they were thinking, both their stomachs growled loudly. Tommy laughed reaching for the phone. He ordered their dinner never breaking eye contact with Jude.

She just smiled completely lost in his baby blues. This was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. There were no better eyes to stare into. It was like their souls had private conversations. She felt her face getting hot, and broke the trance.

"I need water." She said getting up to go to the kitchen.

It was strange what she was feeling. First she wished she could move in with him, now she was seriously thinking about wanting to spend the rest of her life with him. Was she crazy? She was three days from eighteen. Sure she always thought about always being with him, but didn't girls always think that about being with their high school boyfriend forever? That rarely happened. Plus Tommy had been married before. She didn't think he'd ever consider it. Especially as young as she was. It made her panic. What if something tore them apart? They'd been through so much. Her heart couldn't handle loosing him. It wasn't that long ago she'd lost one of her closest friends. How could she ever loose the most important person in her life?

_Jude was sitting out on the lawn with Jamie. He'd come over to play Patsy's 'new song.' Since he's been dating Patsy, or whatever, and working at G Major their friendship had put itself back together. She could tell he didn't always approve of Tommy, but he kept his mouth shut._

"_Jamie, it doesn't even sound like her. Why did Patsy even record it?"_

"_Ah. I got her to lay down the vocals, and we kind of tweaked it. I screwed up okay."_

"_Well you have to apologize. If Tommy did that to me, I'd be through the roof."_

"_I know but I haven't seen her in days."_

"_Patsy needs freedom in the studio, and is a relationship; I'm guessing."_

"_It's kind of weird talking about this with you."_

"_Oh whatever, Jamie, you're my best friend. That's how it was meant to be."_

_Patsy ended up crashing the front lawn literally. Jude could see she was a bit out of control, but wasn't sure if it was more than usual. She didn't know if she could do anything to help the situation._

"_Maybe if Jamie could get her to record another song?" She suggested while on the phone with Tommy._

"_Darius loves this one, and you know how he is. Kwest told me Darius was smiling the big smile."_

"_Oh the 'White Lines' smile?"_

"_The one in the same."_

"_Maybe you could help."_

"_Jude, it's not my place."_

"_But Darius listens to you."_

"_I'll see what I can do. I will feel him out. If he is in a bad mood I won't even try."_

"_Thanks, babe."_

"_Anything for my girl."_

_The next day while talking to her dad, Jude realized Patsy didn't need her to save her. She just needed a friend, and she was determined to be that friend. Patsy didn't have anybody else. Her cell rang bringing her out of her thoughts._

"_Hey, Tommy," She said answering after looking at the caller I.D_

"_Hey. Look, I didn't have a chance to talk to Darius this morning. Jamie was able to convince him, but Patsy's not cooperating. I went in to get something, and she went ballistic. She ran off."_

"_Oh no. Wait she's here I gotta go." She said flipping her phone shut._

_Patsy said she was done, and wanted to celebrate. Though, Jude knew differently, she didn't question her. She was going to be her friend and go along with it. She thought maybe that's all Patsy needed was to calm down and blow off some steam._

_The day was kind of crazy. They were refused service at a restaurant, and stole a goldfish. Jude noticed Patsy was drinking and insisted on driving. They drove around and had fun. Jude let her be herself. Every time Tommy would call she would ignore it. She didn't want Patsy to think she was reporting back to G Major._

_They went to this spot on the beach and Jude's phone rang again. This time it was not Tommy. "It's Jamie." She said._

"_We're not home." Patsy replied. "Congrats, Nancy Drew, you caught me. I didn't exactly leave G Major on the best of terms today."_

"_I already knew that. Tommy called and told me."_

"_That figures. I do have a song though."_

_Jude sat and listened to this beautiful song. She wondered why Patsy wouldn't let the world hear it. It was nothing like anything she'd ever done. Afterwards, she tried reasoning with her. Convince her to go back to G Major so the world could hear her music. "It's just one more day at G Major. One more day, then your music's out there forever."_

"_You're right. I just gotta suck it up."_

"_Want to head back?" Jude asked standing up._

"_Ten more minutes?"_

_Jude was going to nod, but looked and saw Jamie coming. "Oh man."_

_Jude tried to stop him, and say she was handling it. Jamie wouldn't listen. He ended up giving Patsy an ultimatum. All Jude could do was stand back and watch as Jamie made her choose to work on the album, or they were over._

_Of course she picked them being over. Jude followed her back to the car. "Are you okay?"_

"_Yep. G Major can kiss my ass and Jamie no longer gets to."_

_Jude shuddered at the too much information. "No, I meant to drive."_

_Patsy stopped, turned up her flask, and handed her the keys. "Not for long."_

_Jude took the keys feeling helpless and hopeless. They ended up at The Chain. Patsy was burning her contract, but Jude was still trying to convince her to not give up on her music. That completely backfired because Patsy turned on her, and ran off._

_She grabbed her cell phone. "Tommy please pick up."_

"_So now you decide to not ignore me."_

"_Not now Tommy. I've lost her and I don't know what to do."_

"_Did Jamie find you two?"_

"_Yes, and I almost had her convinced to go back. Then he made her choose. She's been drinking and she turned on me. I was just trying to be her friend. I thought that's what she needed."_

"_Maybe Jamie found her again. Call him. I have a meeting to go to with some Italian act. I told Darius I could speak it, but I forgot to tell him it was crappy."_

"_Take Sadie. She speaks perfect Italian."_

"_Okay. If you need me, call. I'll leave my phone on."_

"_Thank you. I love you."_

"_Love you, too. And you're welcome."_

_She called Jamie and went to the rehearsal space hoping she was there. They couldn't find her anywhere. Jamie made her retrace everything that was said before she ran off._

_G Major was the last place they thought she'd go, but it was the exact place they found her. Papers were everywhere, and she was in Darius' office. Jude watched as Jamie tried to reason with her. It was like no one could reach her. She was already too far-gone. After she destroyed everything she could, she was gone. Jude and Jamie were left to clean up._

_Jude wanted to hold on to hope, but when Jamie got a call from the hospital, she felt it all go. Patsy had been in a wreck, and Jamie was her emergency contact._

"_Did you find her?" Tommy answered when she called him on the way to the ER._

"_Tommy." Was all she could choke out._

"_Jude, what's wrong?"_

"_There was an accident. We are on our way to the ER."_

"_Oh god, are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine it's Patsy though. I wasn't with her. I was at G Major with Jamie when he got the call."_

"_I'll meet you there."_

"_No, Tommy. Stay home, and I will call you when I know something." Jude knew it was too close to the anniversary of Angie's death for him to deal with this. She wanted to guard him from unnecessary pain."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_I'm sure." She noticed they were almost to the hospital. "We're almost there. I love you, and I'll call you later."_

"_I love you, too, Jude. If you need me just let me know."_

_The wait seemed to last forever. Jude paced the waiting room going crazy. She just wanted to hear that Patsy was okay. Jamie didn't seem so positive at all. Then the doctor walked in. "I'm sorry."_

Jude drank her water trying to shake the feeling something bad was coming. It always happened when things were going good for them. She felt like when they were happy in their relationship it jinxed them.

Tommy wondered what was taking her so long. "Jude, babe, what's wrong?" He asked walking in the kitchen and seeing that she was crying.

Jude hadn't even realized she was crying until he walked in. "Don't worry about it." She said but not real convincing.

"Talk to me. One minute everything was fine then the next you are running away. You know I'll listen to what ever you have to say."

"It's stupid."

"Nothing that ever goes through that pretty little head of your is stupid."

"I just feel like every time we settle in to being happy something bad happens. Remember when I left for tour? We were in a good place, but when I got home Darius had bought out G Major. When that all settled down, you pulled away around my birthday. Then my mom left, Darius sent you away. Then this last time I lost one of my best friends. What if I loose you next?"

Tommy couldn't help but chuckle. "Jude, I'm not going anywhere, not unless you are going with me. I know the past few weeks have been rough with out Patsy. She's who always helped you blow off steam. And when Jamie comes to grips with his grief you'll have his friendship again. It's hard, but Jamie is a lot like me. I know he'll come through it. He'll find someone that eases his pain like I did."

"Do you know how much I love you?" She asked finally being able to smile. He always knew the right thing to say.

He nodded. "As mush as I love you." He hugged her to him and kissed her forehead.

She felt a bit better, but in the back of her mind she had a nagging feeling. There was a knock at the door, and Tommy let go of her. "That's dinner. Why don't you go wash your face?"

"Okay." She said and kissed him lightly and headed upstairs.

She washed her face and changed into a more comfortable pair of pajamas. She just kept reminding her self that everything was fine. As long as they loved each other nothing could or would tear them apart. She was young. She had plenty of time to think about marriage. It didn't matter if the were dating, living together, or married, as long as she was with Tommy.

**Let me know what you think. I started to skip it, but I already mentioned Patsy's death earlier in the story. I hate flash back's that are basically summaries, but that was the best way to do this one.**

**Now Jude is thinking all the same things Tommy is thinking. But she feels like Tommy is not on the same page as her. How will she react when she finds out he is.**

**Hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas. I hope to have a new chapter ready by the end of the week. Christmas day sounds like good day to curl up and write. We'll see.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Sorry it took so long to update. Enjoy I own nothing.**

Chapter 29

Tommy answered the door and paid for dinner. He wondered what freaked Jude out so bad. Usually he was the one to freak out. He thought about the day of Patsy's accident. He'd been so afraid that Jude was hurt.

_Tommy had just got home from the business meeting. He was glad Jude suggested he take Sadie. It helped him out a lot. Now he was worried about Jude. He'd seen a lot of people get messed up because of the business. As far as he could see, Patsy was as far gone as they come._

_His cell rang. "Did you find her?" Were the first words out of his mouth._

"_Tommy." Was all he heard her say in a sobbing voice._

_At the end of the call, he had to settle his heart rate. When she'd said there had been an accident, he felt like everything was happening again. It had been almost five years since he'd lost Angie, and he couldn't go though that again and loose Jude._

_She'd insisted on him staying home, but he felt like he should be there for her. Part of him wanted to run. Hide from ever loosing anybody again. He wanted to put a shield around him. The other part of him remembered that little black box that was locked up in his safe. He wanted a life with Jude. That meant sticking around through the hard stuff._

_He had a lot of nervous energy waiting on Jude to call. He sat at his piano and started working on a song for her. The melody flowed with no problems. The words were tough. He wanted to say the right thing._

_He was so caught up writing the song, that he almost didn't hear the knock on the door. He rushed to the door to find a grief stricken Jude. "Jude?" He questioned._

_She almost crumbled to the floor right in the doorway. He caught her, and held her to his chest. He knew with out her even saying it that Patsy hadn't made it. He scooped her up and carried her to the couch. "Shh." He tried soothing her, but her sobs kept coming. He knew from experience there was nothing that could be said at a time like this. He rocked her and kissed her hair letting her know he was there._

"_She's gone." She murmured a long while later. " The doctor said her injuries were to severe."_

"_I'm so sorry. What can I do?" He wanted to help desperately._

"_Can you call my dad? I want to take a shower."_

"_Sure." He said and kissed her forehead._

_After she was upstairs he reached for the phone._

"_Hello." A frantic Stuart answered._

"_Mr. Harrison, it's Tom."_

"_Is Jude okay? I saw on the news…"_

"_Jude's okay. She wasn't with her. She's pretty shaken up though. She came here from the hospital."_

"_Tom what happened?"_

"_Jude was trying to be her friend, but Patsy was too far gone. Patsy took off and neither Jude nor Jamie could find her. I guess she'd been drinking a lot today."_

"_But Jude is okay?"_

"_I promise. I'll get her home once she has calmed down."_

_After hanging up the phone he went upstairs to find her wrapped in a towel and curled into a ball on the bed. He could hear her sobs, and was truly didn't know what he could do for her._

"_Jude, I called your dad. I let him know you were okay. He was worried about you."_

_She didn't respond. He wanted to do something to ease her pain. He sat beside her and pushed the hair back off her forehead. "Babe, you want to get dressed and I'll take you home?"_

_She still didn't respond. Tommy walked around the bed, laid behind her, and pulled her to him. He just held her and tried to soothe her as much as possible._

_Eventually she rolled over to face him. He could see the dried tears on her face. He cupped her cheek. "Hey." He said just above a whisper. _

"_Hey." Her voice was hoarse so he barely heard her. "Thank you for calling my dad."_

"_No problem. You want me to take you home?"_

"_I don't want to go home."_

"_Well, you know you're welcome to stay here." He said giving her a small smile hoping she'd return it._

"_Thanks." She replied back burying her face in the crook of his neck._

_He just rubbed her back through the towel humming lightly. He thought she'd calmed down enough to get some rest. She was going to need it._

"_Tommy?" Her voice was weak._

"_Yeah."_

"_I shouldn't have let her get away from me."_

"_Jude, you can't blame yourself. That doesn't end well. Take my word for it."_

"_It hurts." _

"_I know." He cupped her face again. _

_He was shocked when her lips met his softly but aggressively. His fingers instantly ran through her wet hair as her tongue ran over his bottom lip demanding entrance. When his tongue met hers, he could no longer think straight. The smell of the soap and shampoo she used was intoxicating. He tried to remind himself that she was grieving. The thought of pulling away from her crossed his mind, but when she moved down his neck, it was lost._

_Her hands moved under his t-shirt as she returned to his lips. He pulled away long enough to pull the shirt off before kissing down her neck. She let out a moan out that encouraged him to keep going. He laid open mouth kisses across her collarbone. When he felt her hands move down his stomach, he was too far gone to stop her. All he could think about was kissing her and the sensations her fingers were causing on his skin._

_He ran his hand up her leg and moved back to kissing her lips. Instantly their tongues fought for dominance. All he wanted to do was rip the towel off and have his way with her, but he knew this wasn't the time for that. But he couldn't pull away from her either. He needed this closeness with her just as much as she did._

_When she unzipped his jeans, he kicked them off. He pulled away from her kisses to hover over her. He stared down at the girl who had stolen his heart. Her face was flushed and her lips were swollen. He couldn't believe this beautiful creation had chosen him to love. _

"_Do you know how much I love you?" He asked staring into her eyes._

_Her only response was to raise up and meet his lips again. He had an overwhelming need to feel more of her skin, and ran one hand inside her towel over her stomach. She moaned into his mouth, and he moved to her neck once again. He lightly sucked on the spot behind her ear as he felt her rub him through his boxers. He thought he'd loose it right there moaning her name._

_Still caressing her stomach, inched his hand up grazing right under her breasts. Her skin was so soft and warm. He tried to concentrate on her, but when her hand slipped inside his boxers all he could do was rest his forehead on her shoulder. Her hands were rough from years of playing the guitar. He closed his eyes enjoying the feel of her hand wrapped around him. Her name slipped from his lips in a groan._

_He moved the hand that was resting on her rib cage down her stomach straight to her heat. He ran one finger into her folds causing her back to arch. He added another finger, thrusting into her at the pace her hand moved on him. He knew he wasn't far, and wanted her right with him. He added pressure with his thumb to her bud of nerves._

_She moaned his name as he felt her clinch around his fingers. That was enough to send him over. He collapsed to her side while they both caught their breath. He gave her one more relaxed kiss, and then rested his forehead against hers. "Why don't you get dressed for bed and call your dad. I'm going to shower."_

_She nodded and he practically ran for the bathroom. He knew if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to stop what would happen next. All he wanted to do was make love to her, but it wasn't right. She was not in her right mind and he didn't want her to regret anything._

_When he returned after his shower, she was asleep. He crawled in bed behind her and pulled her close to his body. He kissed the side of her head and closed his eyes._

"_Thank you." He heard her whisper before he drifted off to sleep._

Falling asleep with her in his arms that night made her being okay a reality for him. He couldn't believe how much changed in just a few weeks. It seemed like a lifetime ago to him.

"So, what'cha order?" Jude said walking up behind him.

"Your favorite of course." He said smiling at her.

"Yay!"

"So are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Just a minor freak out, but I'm good." She reassured him.

"So, your dad's getting home in a couple of days." He said casually while they were eating.

"Yeah. I've missed him."

"I bet he's missed you too. After he gets back and your birthday is over, we should all have dinner together. I could cook here. Have Sadie and Kwest come."

"That would be nice. You really want to put yourself through that?"

"Your dad is not that bad. I think he's learned to like me over the years."

"Huh. I guess he has. He had to see I wasn't kicking you to the curb." She said with a laugh.

"Though I should have been a few times." He playfully argued.

"I don't think so. We've both made mistakes in our relationship but we've learned from them. I think they've made us stronger."

"You're right. So have you shown Sadie her dress yet?"

" Nope. Portia and I planned her fitting the morning of. I know she'll love it."

"You're a pretty good little sister."

"I try. I want to show her how happy I am that she didn't go to New York. I don't know what I'd do with out her."

"I don't know what Kwest would do."

"True. He'd probably follow her. Then you'd be without your best friend."

"I'd still have you." Tommy said with a smirk.

**There you go. Sorry it is so much later than I planned. The scene in his room was hard for me to write. I could see it play out, but it took me a while to write. Since the flashback was Tommy's it was all one sided and it was hard not to write what Jude was thinking and feeling during everything. Hope everyone thinks it turned out good. Please keep letting me know what you think.**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Jude woke up from a blissful dream. She didn't want to open her eyes because the bed was so warm. She'd had a long day. It started with her and Tommy doing their best to save water by showering together. All that did was cause them to be late. Being a senior meant she didn't have a lot of classes, but she did have a class that afternoon while Tommy worked with Karma.

Then she had to go home. Walking into her house was strange because she hadn't been there in a while. She pretty much stayed at Tommy's every night. Her dad was home and wanted both girls home for dinner. Sadie practically lived with Kwest.

"Okay girls, you're free to go." Stuart said after dinner.

"Dad, you've been gone a couple of weeks. We can stay." Sadie insisted.

"No, it's okay. You have your own lives now. I just wanted dinner with my girls. I'll see you both tomorrow nigh at Jude's party."

"Are you sure?" Jude asked.

"Go."

"Okay bye, dad. Love you. Don't wait up. I probably won't be home." Sadie said and was gone.

Jude laughed at Sadie, but it was sort of a nervous laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she slept in her own bed alone. "I won't be too late."

"Don't worry about it, Jude. Tomorrow you'll be eighteen. You're responsible and I trust you. I'll know where to find you if I need you."

"Are you serious?"

"Go. I'm sure Tom is going crazy without you."

"Thanks dad. I love you and I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you too sweetie."

When she got to Tommy's, he hadn't been expecting her. He was boxing stuff up out of his closet.

"Hey Babe, what are you doing?" She asked from the doorway.

He looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Jude, I thought you were at home."

"Dad just wanted to have dinner with us. He told us both to go afterwards. But back to my question, what's with the boxes?"

"Just boxing things up for charity. You know I have so much."

Jude wasn't convinced but she dropped the subject. Tommy had acted weird lately, and she was determined to find out what was going on, later. A few hours apart drove them both crazy.

She knew it wasn't morning yet. She hadn't been a sleep that long. Rolling over, she reached for Tommy, but he wasn't there. She sighed and opened her eyes. The clock read before midnight, and Tommy was nowhere in the room.

She sat there a few minutes thinking maybe he would be right back. When he didn't, she started thinking about her birthday. It was only minutes away. She thought about her party, and who would be there and who wouldn't. Maybe Jamie would come around. She missed him, but she missed Patsy more. It made her thinks about after Patsy died.

_She woke up securely in Tommy's arms. Flashes of the day before went though her mind. She wished the whole day was a dream, but it wasn't. Patsy was gone. Her heart went out to Jamie. She knew he was really hurting. Tommy's arms tightened around her and she thought about the previous night. All he thought about was feeling better. It hurt so badly loosing a friend and she was desperate for something that made her feel good. She knew if things had gone farther, she'd been okay with it because she was ready. But she didn't want to remember her first time like that._

"_Morning." Tommy mumbled into her neck._

"_Morning." She responded. Her voice was still weak from crying._

"_How are you feeling?"_

"_Numb." _

"_That's to be expected." She could hear the sadness in his voice. She knew he'd been through this before._

"_Will you drop me off at home?" She wanted to stay in his arms forever, but didn't ant to cause him more pain by having to watch her be sad._

"_Sure."_

_She thought being at home might help, but being alone made things worse. It gave her way too much time to think. So she went to G Major. She slipped in the back door and went straight into the studio she and Tommy always worked in. She was able to sit there awhile before Tommy came in._

"_Jude, what are you doing here?"_

_She really didn't know. "Hiding and waiting. Just hiding and waiting."_

"_I thought you were going to stay home and get some rest." He sat down beside her._

"_I got plenty of rest last night. Sitting at home was driving me crazy. Too much space to think."_

"_You're probably still in shock. It happens." She was reminded yet again that he'd been through this before._

"_Yeah. I've just never lost someone my own age before."_

"_Too young."_

"_You know when I was with her she was angry. I made her angry."_

"_Jude, like I told you last night, it wasn't your fault."_

"_I knew she was smashed. I knew."_

"_Patsy was fearless. Fearless. And funny and witty and totally out of control."_

"_She was, wasn't she?"_

"_It was inevitable." She could see that in his head he was somewhere far away. She couldn't take him back there. When he walked away, she just watched him go._

_Darius had called everyone together to talk about arrangements. The memorial service was going to be held at G Major. Jude didn't think it was the best place, but she was too upset to speak up._

_She and the guys ended up at The Chain remembering Patsy the way she really was. They sat around telling stories. Spied made the comment that they should throw her an Irish Wake. Something all her friends could be at since Darius requested some people not show up at G Major._

_The next day she found out the G Major was releasing Patsy's album and running with the song that caused her demise. She tried to talk to Jamie, but he was to angry to be reasoned with. Patsy hated G Major, and Jude knew she wouldn't want any of what was planned. She started to go to Tommy, but decided against it. He was having hard time, and she knew it with out him saying it._

_She went to Sadie instead. "How do I stop this?"_

"_I don't know. Maybe Tommy…"_

"_No, I don't want to bother Tommy with this. He's going through enough."_

"_Jude, he just wants to be there for you."_

"_Are we only talking about Tommy?"_

"_Kwest is shutting me out."_

"_Sorry sis. Just keep letting him know you're there for him."_

_Jude decided with the help of her band they were going to throw the real wake Spied had suggested. It was going to be something Patsy would be proud of. The tricky part was they were going to get Patsy's ashes from G Major._

_She went to get help from Jamie, but he point blank blamed her for whet happened. No matter how many times Tommy had told her it wasn't her fault, she believed Jamie. If she had stopped Patsy, the accident wouldn't have happened._

_Somehow Spied was able to get a key card so they could break into G Major that night. Jude found walking into D's office creepy. They found the urn, but neither felt like they could touch it._

"_What are you doing?" A voice from the doorway said. They turned to find Tommy._

"_Dude." Spied said jumping._

"_Patsy doesn't belong here."_

"_You're stealing her ashes?"_

"_We're taking her to one last party."_

_She watched Tommy stare at the urn. She didn't want him to be upset that she didn't come to him. She just was trying to protect him. He picked it up and handed it to her. "Show her a good time."_

_That night she couldn't sleep. Sadie and her dad were asleep so she curled up on the couch and flipped through channels. She heard a tap on the front door and found Tommy. "Hey what are you doing here?"_

"_I wanted to check on you. Your cell is off, and I figured your dad was asleep, so I drove by. I saw the light on."_

"_Come on in. I couldn't sleep" They sat on the couch._

"_You should have called me."_

"_I didn't want to bother you."_

"_Jude you never bother me. Why would you think that?"_

"_I know what is coming up and I didn't want to cause you unnecessary grief." She couldn't even look at him._

_She heard him chuckle, and looked up. "You just lost a close friend, and you're your worried about me? Sure this brings feelings up, but I can handle it. I have my girl and my best friend to take care of. I'm stronger than I look."_

"_Yeah Sadie said Kwest was shutting her out. Have you talked to him?"_

"_A bit, he'll be okay. He just needs to get through it his own way. We all do."_

"_It's just this business. Darius is exploiting her, and Jamie is letting him. Plaus Jamie blames me."_

"_Next week he'll blame someone new."_

_That's what Spied said."_

"_For once I agree with him. So I guess you're not going to the G Major memorial service."_

"_We're having a wake on the beach. I think Patsy would like it."_

_Tommy wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him. This was what she needed all day. "Why don't you go to sleep?" He said kissing the crown of her head. She was asleep before she could respond._

_When she woke up the next morning, Tommy was gone, but he left a note. 'Left before your dad got up. Love you and I will see you at the beach. –T.'_

_She was torn between wanting him there and wanting to guard him from painful memories. She remembered him saying he could handle it. For her sake, she hoped he really could because she needed him more than anything. This was going to be a hard day._

_She met the guys at the rehearsal space before going to the beach. She saw Sadie and Kwest walk up together and it made her smile that he was letting her in. Tommy wasn't there when they started. She worried a bit, but then got caught up in the stories people were telling. She sang a couple of songs._

_When everything was winding down, she noticed Tommy pull up on his motorcycle in the distance. She went to him immediately. "Where have you been?" She asked concerned._

"_I'll tell you later. I'm sorry I was late." She could tell he was sincere._

"_It's okay. You're here now and that is all that matters. I missed you this morning when I woke up alone on the couch."_

"_I hated leaving you, but you looked so peaceful. Plus I don't want to push my limits with your dad."_

"_I understand."_

"_Dude, you ready?" Spied called out to her,_

"_I have to go say good bye to my friend. Will you wait right here?" She tried to sound strong, but her voice cracked. _

"_Of course."_

_She and Spied walked down to the water. The beach was where Patsy was happy, so Spied poured her ashes out. 'Now she is free.' Jude thought to herself before letting the gold fish free into the water. Standing back up, she couldn't hold in her sobs any longer._

"_It's okay." Spied said pulling her into a hug._

_She cried for her friend that was gone, for the friend that blamed her, and for herself._

"_Come on." Spied said pulling away. "Let Quincy take you home."_

_She looked up and saw him standing in the exact spot she left him. He had silent tears running down his face. It was the first time she'd seen him cry in a long time. She wrapped her arms around his waist when she got to him and buried her face in his chest. _

"_Come on girl. Let's get you home." He said in a soothing voice._

_On the ride to her house, she held on tight and let the wind wash over her. The freedom she felt on the back of his bike calmed her nerves._

_That evening she sat on her front steps waiting on him to pick her up for dinner. She saw Jamie come home. "Jamie."_

_All he did was look at her. "Jamie, come sit with me." She felt bad because he looked so sad._

"_I can't. Jude, I just can't." He said and waled into his house._

Jamie hadn't really talked to her since then. She hoped one day she'd have her old friend back.

Tommy hadn't come back to bed yet, so she decided to go look for him. She wrapped the sheet around her and went towards the hallway. Near the stairs was where she heard the piano. It was a beautiful melody.

Once she was downstairs, she just stood back and listened. He was so focused that he never noticed her. She wondered if there were any lyrics to it. "It's beautiful." She finally spoke up.

Tommy jumped at the sound of her voice. He'd been trying to perfect the song before playing it for her. "You're awake." He said turning to face her.

"I got lonely in the bed by myself." She sat down on the bench with him.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You wrote me a song?" She was amazed.

"Its just part of your birthday present." He said and started playing again.

Jude stared at him as he sang. It reminded her why she loved him so much. He was always amazing her. "I love it." She said when he was done.

He leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was meant to be gentle, but was filled with passion. They had an overwhelming need for each other. Jude's hands framed his face as his tongue grazed her bottom lip. She granted him entrance deepening the kiss.

They pulled back when the need for oxygen burned in each of their lungs. Tommy rested his forehead on hers as they caught their breath. "I thought you could sing it at your party with me on piano."

"That would be perfect."

He looked over at the clock and noticed it was after midnight. "Happy Birthday." He whispered.

"Thank you. I'm finally eighteen." She said grinning.

"Yes you are." He said and kissed her quickly. "What time is your dad expecting you home?"

"He's not. Told me he knew where I would be if he needed me."

"Really?" Tommy was shocked. He'd been preparing himself for sleeping without her for the night.

Jude nodded before meeting his lips again. She locked her fingers around his neck holding him close to her. She could feel the heat pooling in the pit of her stomach. He desire for Tommy was never quenched.

Tommy shifted so he could stand up and pick her up bridal style. He walked towards the stairs never breaking the kiss. She moaned into his mouth making him shudder. "I love when you do that." He said pulling back for a needed breath.

"I. Love. You." Jude said between kisses down Tommy's neck.

He placed her on the bed, removing the sheet from around her. "Beautiful." He said mesmerized by her.

They made slow harmonious movements. A breath was caught then sighed away like the wind. Like a delicate waltz, their dance was light and elegant. When the tempo increased, they surged with the music, spinning, whirling their eyes open and locked together. Their love for each other was clearly shown deeply in their eyes.

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. Last week was a rough we for me. Work and family issues were keeping me from being able to focus on writing. It seems the closer I am getting to the end the longer it takes me to write a chapter. Please keep reviewing. I love reading what people are thinking.**


	31. Chapter 31

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 31

Tommy woke up before Jude and just watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. If the day went the way he wanted, they would be engaged before it was over. He carefully eased out bed so he didn't wake her. Looking over his shoulder to make sure she was still asleep, he reached and got the necklace box off the top shelf in his closet. Then he slowly crawled back in bed. She rolled over and placed her head on his chest. He couldn't help but smile thinking about their future. A lifetime of waking up just like this every morning.

She began to stir. He put the box on his stomach so it would be the first thing she saw when her eyes opened. This day was going to go in history as the day to make or break them. He prayed for the first one.

"What's that?" Jude asked sleep still evident in her voice.

"The next part of your birthday present."

"Next? How many parts are there?"

"You'll see." He said laughing lightly. "Open it."

Jude wondered what it could be. She sat up taking it in her hands. The red velvet box was so soft. She opened it slowly. It was beautiful and looked expensive. "Oh Tommy." She gasped.

"Do you like it?" All Jude could do was nod. "It was my MaMere's. When she passed away she left my brother and I some of her jewelry. She wanted us to give them to someone special. " He didn't want to say future wife because he was planning that part for after her party. "I thought you could wear it tonight. Unless you already have something…"

"No. Of course, I'll wear it tonight. Tommy, thank you. It's perfect." She thought she was going to cry. Tommy was giving her a piece of his past.

"I'm glad you like it. Tristian sent it to me a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was the perfect gift for you."

"It is." She said leaning in to kiss him. It was quick and she pulled back. "I would love to stay here all day, but I have dress fittings with Portia and Sadie."

"It's okay. I have stuff to meet with Darius about anyway. You take a shower first we don't have time to be late today."

On the drive to G Major, Tommy thought about Jude's party that night. He couldn't wait to officially escort her. The world could quit speculating and see they were together and happy. He thought about the one friend she really wanted there, and he hoped to see him sometime during the day. Maybe since he knew how Jamie was feeling, he could convince him to go to the party.

His mind drifted to the night after Patsy's wake.

_He felt horrible that he was late for the wake at the beach. When he got there it was almost over. His heart broke watching her break down in Spied's arms. He wished there was something he could do to ease her grief._

_He felt her sigh against him on the way back to her house. He knew riding the bike always calmed her. When they got to her house, it was just them. Her dad had gone back to work, and Sadie was still with Kwest. _

"_You want to lie down?" He asked her._

"_If you lie with me."_

"_Of course."_

_He held her close to him. "I want to take you to dinner tonight."_

"_That sounds good to me." She said drifting off to sleep._

_He watched her sleep a while before getting up. He left her a note again, and slipped out of her room before she could wake up. He was glad she seemed to be sleeping soundly._

_When he came back to pick her up, she was sitting on the front steps looking a bit lost. "Hey. What's wrong?" He asked sitting beside her._

"_Jamie just got home. I tried to get him to talk to me, but he said he couldn't."_

"_Give him some time. He needs to grieve properly."_

"_Did you shut your friends out?"_

"_Yeah. Kwest tried all he could to get through to me. Portia tried to act like nothing happened. She thought we could just go back to normal."_

"_But you're better now."_

"_Yeah, but it took years and meeting you to really get over it. And really you are never over it. I mean a life was lost."_

"_Yeah. I think I'll miss Patsy for a long time. So, what happened today when you were late?"_

"_I went by G Major and tried to talk to Darius about treating her memorial service like an album release. I thought maybe I could reason with him, but he wouldn't see it the way I was seeing it."_

"_You really did that?"_

"_Sure. Why not? I mean everyone knew how Patsy felt about that place. You and I can handle G Major because we can compromise with Darius. Compromising wasn't Patsy's style. It was what made her so great."_

"_I never knew you thought that way about her."_

"_I envied her to an extent. If I had stood for what I believed maybe I would have had a solo career. But after meeting you, I haven't wanted to do anything but produce. Also Patsy was your friend and I respected her for that."_

"_Why are you always doing that?"_

"_What?" He asked confused._

"_Amazing me."_

"_Come on let's go eat." He said rolling his eyes._

_He took her to a small diner, and then to the coffee shop they used to go to earlier in their relationship. She was smiling every time he looked over at her._

"_That smile looks good on you." He said kissing her hand._

"_It's only because you make me smile. You've been so good to me over the last couple of days, I don't know if I could have gotten through with out you.'_

"_You'd do the same for me. I have somewhere else I want to take you before taking you home."_

"_Okay."_

_They went to the pier, where he took her right after they met. The whole drive he was thinking about everything they'd been through, and how much he wanted to spend forever finding out what else like had in store for them._

"_Wow. It's a starry night." She said when he helped her out of the car. "It's so beautiful."_

"_Sure is." He responded but he wasn't looking at the sky._

_He walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. They just stayed like that staring at the sky in silence. _

"_Did you see that shooting star?" Jude asked breaking the silence._

"_I guess Patsy is watching you after all."_

_Suddenly her lips were on his, He could feel her release her stress of the day into the kiss. It was gentle and full of love. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and it tasted like coffee and sugar. His fingers dug into her hair pulling her closer to him. He wished he never had to stop kissing her. He felt her arms wrap around him and her hands went up the back of his jacket. Their bodies molded together as neither one pulled away from the kiss. All he wanted to do was take her home to his bed. The bed he hoped one day they would share._

_He knew if he didn't pull away, he wouldn't be able to stop. He'd end up taking her right there. "I better get you home." He said with labored breath._

"_Do you have to?"_

"_Come on. Your dad is probably waiting."_

_The drive to her house seemed to take forever. More that once he thought of just taking her to his place. But he had too much planned to piss off her dad right now. He had to do everything he could to keep Stuart on his side_

"_I'm not going to be able to asleep." Jude said when they were sitting out side her house._

"_Come on, Harrison, you've got to be exhausted. You'll be asleep before your head hits the pillow._

"_But you won't be there." She whined. She was making it harder for him._

"_Here." He said shrugging off his jacket. "Sleep with this. Maybe it will help."_

"_Doubt it, but I will try. Will I see you tomorrow?"_

"_Of course. You know I can't stay away."_

"_Good. I want to plan a benefit in Patsy's name and I'm going to need help."_

"_Well, you've got mine."_

_He kissed her lightly. If he did more he'd for sure put the car in drive and take her home with him. "Good night, Babe."_

"_Goodnight. I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

_Walking into his apartment alone pained him. He never wanted to be away from her. He hoped she was sleeping soundly when he climbed in bed and went to sleep himself._

He could hardly believe the day had finally arrived where he could ask her to spend her life with him. He couldn't wait until after her party.

"Where's your head?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Just thinking about your party."

"I can't wait to perform _Love To Burn_. It's such a beautiful song."

"Just like you."

"Stop." Jude turned away blushing.

"You still blush when I complement you. Even after what we did last night, a compliment still makes you blush."

At that she blushed even brighter red. "What can I say, you get to me."

They walked into G Major hand in hand. The whole place was crazy. People were everywhere getting things ready to take over to the hotel the party was being held at. It was going to be a hectic day.

"Go to your dress fittings. I have to find D."

"Okay." She said before he kissed her. She'd only been eighteen for a few hours, and he was already showing more PDA. She loved it.

**Please Review. I know it is shorter than most, but I think it is good. Stay tuned to see how her birthday will unfold.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Jude found Sadie at the front desk. "Hey Sis. How are you today?"

"Hey birthday girl. I'm good. How are you on your big day?"

"Fabulous! I can't wait to show you the necklace Tommy gave me this morning. I'm wearing it tonight."

"Sounds fancy."

"It's beautiful, but I'll tell you more about it later. You have a dress to try on for tonight."

"I already have my dress at home."

"No dear sister. Come on I'll show you."

They went to find Portia. Jude was so excited. She couldn't wait to see Sadie in the dress she picked for her.

"I'm in love." Sadie said looking into the mirror.

"It looks great on you." Portia stated.

"Thank you Jude. I can't believe you bought me this dress, and on your birthday."

"It's my way of saying I appreciate you. I'm really glad you stayed and didn't go to New York."

"I'm glad I stayed too." She said and turned back to the mirror.

Jude thought back to just a few weeks before when Sadie almost moved to New York for work.

_Jude was going crazy planning the benefit in Patsy's name. She knew Patsy never really had a home except her car. She found a shelter that reached out to homeless teens and thought it was the perfect place to get the proceeds. She felt confident when she held a press conference that she was doing the right thing. With Tommy on one side of her and Sadie on the other, this was a sure thing. _

_When it came down to the real planning, Jude became overwhelmed. Jamie was still not talking to her, and she was clueless on how to order the specifics she needed. _

"_Hey St Jude." Sadie said approaching her. "Shouldn't you be basking in your benevolent glory?"_

"_This benefit is proving a little tricky."_

_"Well tricky is my middle name. Come on, how can I help?"_

_She knew everything would be okay with Sadie helping her. Sadie knew how to order the sound system and the other stuff Jude was completely lost on. _

_"Awesome. Thank you so much Sadie." She said before Tommy whisked her away._

_They were supposed to be rehearsing for the benefit, but Jude couldn't pull herself away from his lips. "We should be practicing." She said between kisses._

_"We've got time." He said kissing down the side of her neck and tickling her sides a bit._

_She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh. Ah. Crap."_

_"What now?" Tommy asked pulling back._

_"I keep having these cramps when ever I have fun because Patsy never will again."_

_"I know you're trying to fix what happened, but pulling this concert off by Saturday; its tough, girl."_

_"Yeah, I know but I have a secret weapon, and she can plan this in her sleep."_

_"Well then we have nothing to worry about." Tommy said before she was lost yet again in the feeling of his lips._

_When they arrived at the mall later to make sure everything was being set up, nothing seemed to be going right. Her stage was being taken apart, and the mall manager said the concert was being canceled. Jude was furious at Sadie. _

"_Oh my god! You want me to fail. Do you think that's going to make you feel any better about your crappy life?"_

"_My crappy life, huh? Well, thank goodness I'm officially kissing it goodbye." Sadie responded pulling a letter out of her pocket. "Letter of acceptance to the UN in New York, and I'm going." With that she walked away._

_Jude didn't know what to think. Her benefit was ruined and her sister was leaving her. All she wanted to do was something good. "I have to try to find another venue." She sighed._

"_That's gonna be tough."_

"_I don't need your negativity right now." She said and walked away from him._

_She went back to the rehearsal space. She was determined to not give up. The benefit was for a good cause. It wasn't something she could just move on from. She'd do it all by herself if she had to. _

_Nowhere she called had an opening for the upcoming weekend. "Okay, so, Patterson Concert Hall is also booked. You think we can fit a few thousand people in here?" She asked when she saw Tommy at the door._

"_Want to talk about it?"_

"_How Sadie wrecked everything?"_

"_How she just announced she's moving to New York City. I guess even the great Sadie Harrison can feel overwhelmed."_

"_She told me she could do it."_

"_Maybe she just couldn't say no because you are her sister. Now that you are famous people are going to tell you what they think you want to hear. So, it's good, but when the chips are down Sadie still calls you on your crap."_

"_Okay. Well I'm certainly full of it. I couldn't help Patsy. Jamie won't talk to me. And now Sadie is leaving. I can't do any of this with out her."_

"_So what are you telling me for?"_

_When Jude got home Sadie was just getting there too. They witnessed their dad selling one of his favorite records. It was so Sadie would have money when she moved to New York. Stuart was so proud of her. Jude apologized for the way she acted, and the two girls put their heads together to save the show. _

"_So, everything's good?" Tommy asked that night at dinner._

"_Yep. Everything should be smooth on Saturday."_

"_And how do you feel about Sadie leaving now?"_

"_I don't know what I'm going to do without her, but I'm so proud of her. She's meant to do great things."_

_The show went exactly as planned. Jude was glad she could help kids have a place to go. She hoped Patsy would have liked it._

_On Monday morning to show Sadie that she'd be okay, Jude got up early and made her lunch for her. "What's this?" Sadie asked walking down the stairs._

"_I cooked for you." Jude said smiling. "It's PB&J."_

"_Sweet." Sadie said laughing._

"_No, it's baby steps. So I can start taking care of things when you're in New York. And maybe when I come visit you can make me one of your breakfast burritos."_

"_I don't think I'm going."_

"_It's perfect for you."_

"_No timing is wrong. You know dad can't pay his bills."_

"_That's not a reason to stay. Plus I have money. Not that he'd take it"_

"_It's not just that. I met Pagen Smith this week. I planned a charity concert. And Darius just offered me a raise."_

"_Really? That's awesome. Still you'd take New York by storm."_

"_Yeah. I'd rather take over G Major. And then there's Kwest. I don't want to leave him."_

"_Wow. You're life sounds pretty amazing. I'm jealous."_

"_Well, if you're lucky maybe I'll let you keep hanging with me." Sadie said before they hugged._

Jude knew she wasn't the reason Sadie stayed, but she was so glad she did.

"By the way Portia, that's a great suit. Who's that for?" Jude noticed a white suit.

"Uh! Who else is vain enough to try to pull off white and pleats?"

For a few seconds Jude felt smug. Tommy told her he wasn't getting a suit. Then a bad feeling set in. "Tommy's a forty regular. It won't fit."

"Huh? I could have sworn I ordered the right size." Portia mumbled to her self.

Jude's brain was screaming. She wanted this night to be perfect. One thing being wrong could only set off a domino effect. Her gut was telling her the whole party was going to be ruined. It was going to be the usual Jude Harrison birthday.

After Tommy finished with his business with Darius, he decided to go looking for Jamie. He wanted everyone Jude cared about to be at her party. He found him out back. "It's your best friend's birthday. She really wants you there. I know you got things going on."

"Things going one. Funny how no one says Patsy's name anymore."

"I would just hate to see Jude hurt on her birthday."

"She's got you, what's she need me for?"

"Jamie, I've been where you are. I know what you are going through. The only thing worse than feeling like you can't move on, is the moment you realize you can." He said his peace and left Jamie to think it over.

"Oh god, Tommy." Jude rushed at him when he walked in the door.

"Jude, what's wrong?" She seemed frantic.

"Everything is going to go wrong. I just feel it."

"What made you figure this? Jude everything is going to be fine."

"I saw your suit."

Tommy couldn't help but smile. "What did you think?"

"That it's the wrong size, and that one thing after another is going to start going wrong."

"Babe, calm down. So Portia ordered the wrong size. I will check to see if she has anything else. And if not, I have plenty suits at home."

She wasn't convinced. "I haven't had a birthday since I won Instant Star that has gone as planned."

"Well, I plan to dance with you tonight, and I don't think anything can change that." He said pulling her to him and kissing her forehead.

**I know everyone can't wait until the party. It's coming I promise. Is Jude's bad feeling right? Is something going to throw the whole party off? Stay tuned…**

**The good news is the next chapter is already written. It just has to be typed. Keep letting me know what you think.**


	33. Chapter 33

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 33

When Jude finally calmed down, Tommy left her to go talk to Portia. He wanted to question her about the suit. To make sure Portia wasn't trying to sabotage Jude's birthday. He had a lot riding on this day.

"Portia, what happened with my suit?"

"I don't know. I put the order in for forty regular, but they delivered the wrong size."

He could tell she was telling the truth. "Jude is freaking out thinking the whole party is going to be ruined because one thing went wrong. Do you have anything else I can wear?"

"Sorry, I didn't get extra for this one."

Tommy just waved it off. "I'm sure I have something at home that will work."

"I'm really sorry, Tommy. I want this to be a good night for Jude, too. She deserves it."

"Yeah she does."

His mind drifted off to a couple of weeks before when Sadie decided not to move to New York.

"_Guess what!" Jude skipped into his office._

"_You're in a good mood. What?" He couldn't help but smile because she was smiling._

"_Sadie is staying. Darius offered her a raise, and she couldn't bare to really leave Kwest."_

"_That's great, girl. I'm sure she didn't want to leave you either. Or your dad."_

"_Speaking of my dad, he is leaving today for two weeks. You want to come over tonight?"_

"_Sure. After our session I have to work with Karma then I'm free."_

"_Great!"_

_He was looking forward to a nice quiet evening with his girl. His session with Karma had given him a headache._

"_Jude, what's going on?" She was on the steps when he got there and looked uncomfortable._

"_Sadie had the same idea that I did. She and Kwest were making out on the couch when I got here. Damn that couch has seen a lot of action."_

_Tommy knew he shouldn't laugh, but he couldn't help it. "I hope they had their clothes on."_

"_It's not funny, Tommy."_

"_It actually is. I guess you and I are the only ones who haven't been walked in on." The thought made him shudder. "Okay maybe it's not funny."_

"_See I told you. Anyway Sadie is cooking now. So I decided to sit out here and wait on you. What's in the bag?"_

_He'd completely forgotten about his bag. "I thought I'd bring some things over here in case I stayed over."_

"_Oh really." Jude said with a questioning smirk. He wished he could read her mind._

"_With your dad out of town, and Sadie staying at Kwest's all the time, I figured you might get lonely. Plus I hate you staying by yourself."_

"_Aww that was sweet."_

_They ate dinner with Sadie and Kwest. It was nice and quiet. After dinner, he and Jude went to her room. Jude had refused to curl up on the couch. And Tommy didn't really blame her._

"_What are you thinking about?" He asked when he noticed she was staring at her closet door._

"_A lot of things. I saw Jamie Saturday when I got home from the concert. He questioned my idea of a concert in a mall in Patsy's name."_

"_Jude what you did Saturday was great. All the money that went to that shelter is what mattered not what you did to make the money."_

"_I know. I just miss him, and it makes me angry that the only time he speaks to me is to make me feel horrible about myself." _

"_Misery loves company, babe."_

_They had both almost drifted asleep when they started hearing noises from down the hall. "Oh now this is going too far." Jude huffed._

"_Grab and overnight bag. We're going to my place." He wanted to laugh at the situation, but was too uncomfortable to._

_Jude left a note on the table and they were gone. The whole ride to his house was in silence. Tommy didn't want to upset Jude by laughing like he really wanted to. _

"_She had to just go and ruin me being happy that she's staying." Jude huffed once they were in his apartment._

"_You're still happy she's staying. I just think Kwest is happier." He couldn't help but joke._

_Tommy, not funny! Why couldn't they have gone to his place then?"_

"_Different scenery?" He was completely lost on what to tell her. "I don't know Jude. Look on the bright side, we didn't have to stay there."_

"_Thank goodness for that. So, I had an interesting meeting with D today." She said sitting down on the couch and pulling her legs under her._

"_Really? What about?"_

"_My birthday. He wanted to know what kind of party I wanted. He said I've worked hard this year and deserve to have a blow out for my eighteenth."_

"_That's true. So what did you tell him?"_

"_I told him I wanted a 30's era type party. It should be fun." _

"_I'm sure D and Portia will have fun with that." He responded sitting beside her._

"_I think we all will, but I have a question for you."_

"_What would that be?"_

"_Would you escort me to my party?"_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_I think it's the perfect place for us to go completely public. I'll be eighteen. Nobody can say we are doing anything wrong."_

_He thought for a minute, and knew she was right. "I would love to escort you to your party." He thought she deserved one night where everything was right._

"_Thank you." She said as she moved to sit in his lap._

"_It's my pleasure." He said barely above a whisper before their lips met in a gentle kiss._

_Yet again he had to do his best to keep his mind clear. It was hard, but some how he pulled away. She looked confused._

"_What?" She asked._

"_It's late. Why don't you get changed for bed? I'm going to take a quick shower." He didn't wait for her response before heading up to the shower._

_When he walked into his bedroom she was sound asleep. He couldn't wait until the world knew they were together and happy. She deserved all the happiness in the world._

"You and Jude have been doing that a lot lately." Portia's voice broke through his thoughts.

"What?"

"Zoning off."

"Oh. I was just thinking about how much Jude deserves this night."

"Then you better get going so you can find something to wear."

"Yes Ma'am."

Jude decided not to think about her bad feeling. All she wanted to do was dance with Tommy. It didn't matter if he was in a suit or jeans and his leather jacket.

She was dancing around in the lobby. Portia suggested she get used to the shoes she was wearing to the party. She turned and lost her balance. Next thing she knew she was staring up at a stronger. "Whoa."

"Hi" He said.

"Hey you always come out of nowhere like that?" He looked nice enough.

"It's kind of my game."

"Your game. Who do you play for?"

"Let's just say I'm a free agent."

Jude was completely lost. "I'm officially lost in my own sports metaphor. I'm Jude." She held her hand out introducing herself.

"I'm Hunter."

"You here to see Darius?" She noticed a strange gleam in his eye.

"Actually I am looking for an old buddy of mine, Tommy Quincy."

"How do you know Tommy?" That bad feeling was coming up again, but she just pushed it down.

"Spent many nights on the tour bus together. But we kind of lost touch."

Tommy never really talked about his friends for his boy band days. He was probably harmless. "Well, there's a party tonight he'll be at. It's my birthday."

"That would be great."

"I'll make sure your name is on the guest list. After all any friend of Tommy's." She kept ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. This night was about her and Tommy. The more the merrier.

**There you go. The party is getting closer and Jude is still having a bad feeling. Will this be the night of her dreams or her nightmares? **

**Please Review!! I love reading them.  
**


	34. Chapter 34

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 34

After Jude's interesting run-in, Sadie found her so they could head home early to start getting ready. Jude could hardly believe it was actually her birthday. She prayed this night would go as planned.

"So, what's Tommy got planned for tonight?" Sadie asked as she was painting her toenails.

"I'm not sure. He actually hasn't said anything."

"Oh. Keeping secrets. He must have something big planned."

"I don't know, but he's been acting strange this past week."

"Strange how?"

"Well, last week I noticed there were clothes missing out of his closet. Then last night when I got there he was boxing stuff up out of the same closet."

"Did he give you an explanation?"

"Said he was boxing stuff up for charity because he had so much. The weird thing was he looked like he had gotten caught at something."

"Tommy's weird, Jude, maybe you just startled him."

"Maybe."

"So where this necklace?"

Jude pulled the red velvet box from her bag. "Here." She handed Sadie the box.

"Oh my, Jude. It's gorgeous. It must have cost a fortune."

"It was his grandmothers."

"Wow."

"Yeah. And I can't wait for you to hear the song he wrote for me. I'm singing it tonight. Anyway what are you and Kwest doing after the party?"

"He got us a room incase we drink too much."

"Sure. Incase you drink too much." Jude was enjoying the afternoon with her sister. She spent so much time with Tommy lately; she and Sadie didn't get much time together. She remembered the morning after that dreadful night she and Tommy left the house so they didn't have to listen to Kwest and Sadie.

_Jude buried her face in the pillow when she heard Tommy's alarm go off. "Make it shut up." She didn't want to get up._

"_Come on, girl. I've gotta meet Kwest early this morning. I'll drop you off at home."_

"_You think Kwest will be up?"_

"_He better be."_

_When he dropped her off at home Sadie was in the kitchen eating breakfast. "Hey Jude!" She sang in an upbeat tone._

"_Why are you co chipper? Never mind, I already know." She said making a cup of coffee._

"_Why did you and Tommy go to his place?"_

_Jude stared at her like she was crazy. "Like you don't know."_

"_Oh. Sorry."_

"_Don't worry Sadie. Let's just say it made for an uncomfortable position for us. So we went to sleep at his place."_

"_So you still haven't…"_

_Nope. It's like every time it could happen, he pulls back and goes to take a shower."_

"_Maybe you should speak up."_

"_Say what? Hey Tommy have sex with me? Sadie, that's not me."_

"_I have an idea."_

_Before Jude ever knew what was happening, they were in Sadie's car. "Where are we going?"_

"_We're going shopping dear sister. Seems you need a lesson in seduction."_

"_Sades, no. It'll happen when it happens."_

"_Jude, are you ready for the next step?"_

"_I believe so."_

"_Then you need to show Tommy. He loves you, and he doesn't want to do anything until he knows your ready. Wow, am I really talking about Little Tommy Q?"_

"_Sadie this is unnecessary."_

_Sadie wouldn't listen to her. At the lingerie store, Jude was embarrassed. She was afraid someone would see her. It was one thing to be shopping for everyday underwear, but sexy and lacy nighties would lead to scandal._

"_Jude, look at these."_

"_Sadie, what if someone sees me?"_

"_That's why we are here this early. Look around."_

_They were there longer than she wanted to be, and didn't leave empty handed. Sadie had picked her out a pink a little pink see through piece. When they got home, Jude stuffed it in the back of her closet. She didn't think she could pull the seduction off._

"_So, when are you going to do it?" Sadie startled her._

"_Sadie, damn you scared me."_

"_Jude, are you scared? Because if you are then you're not ready." Sadie said sitting on her bed._

"_Tommy's been with so many girls."_

"_He's waited this long for you. I don't think you have to worry about that."_

They'd spent most of the day together just talking girl talk.

"Guess what was still in the back of my closet." Jude said as they were getting their things together to go to the hotel.

"What?"

Jude held up the pink nightie.

"You've never worn that yet?"

"Didn't need to. That next night was when we almost. Then he went to Montreal."

"You should take that with you then. You might not have to seduce him anymore, but I'm sure he'd still enjoy that."

"Come let's go. We have to get our hair done." Jude had let her bad feeling go hoping it was going to be an amazing night.

Tommy needed to get home. He had to find a suit and finish getting everything ready for after her party. He never felt like anything was going to go wrong. He actually had a good feeling about the party.

Walking out the back door, he saw someone he thought he'd never see again. It was Angie's brother, Hunter.

"Tom Quincy, it's been awhile."

"Hey man. Yeah five years." This was something Tommy never saw coming. "If there's anything you need…"

"There is one thing I need; to bring you down."

"Look."

"I lost everything I love, and everyone. I learned something in prison. Revenge is the best revenge." He started walking away. "Oh that girlfriend of yours is cute. Young, but cute. She invited me to her party." And he was gone.

Tommy didn't know what to do. He basically threatened Jude. He needed to protect her. Hunter blamed Tommy for Angie's death. He knew he was serious about hurting anyone Tommy cared about.

He couldn't call off the party. It was supposed to be the first night of the rest of their lives together. Maybe if he stayed away from the party, Hunter would think he'd mistaken that Jude was his girlfriend and wouldn't do anything. He didn't want to ruin Jude's birthday. They'd waited for this day for so long, but he had to make sure Jude was safe.

On his way home he started making phone calls. "Hey D, what's security look like for tonight?"

"The place is pretty secure. What's going on?"

"A complication. Look I need you to make sure there are plenty of guards."

"T, you need to tell me why."

"Hunter's out of prison. He was at G Major."

"I'll call in a few favors. You're girl will be safe." He didn't have to give Darius details because he knew he'd understand.

He called Kwest next. "Kwest I need a favor."

"What's up?"

"I need you to keep a close eye on Jude tonight."

"Can't you? What's going on?"

"I won't be there. Something has come up and I need to stay away. It's her party, and I won't keep her from it."

"Man, she is going to be livid. You better have a good damn reason, or I'll kick your ass myself."

"Someone paid me a little visit at G Major today."

"That doesn't sound like a good reason. You better be giving me the whole story now."

"Hunter is out of prison. He's got one agenda and one agenda only."

"Have you told Darius?"

"He's getting extra security. Jude felt like something was going to go wrong. I just never dreamed it would be this."

"What did he say exactly?"

"That he was taking me down. He wants me to loose everything like he did. Then he said something about Jude and that she invited him to the party. That is why I am not going. Maybe without me there, he won't do anything. I have to figure out a way to get rid of him."

"What are you going to tell Jude?"

"I'll come up with something. Will you please watch after her? And keep Sadie close too."

"Of course."

Walking into his apartment, his heart broke. How was he going to tell her he wouldn't be at the party? How was he going to ruin her big night? Better yet how was he going to get rid of Hunter?

**Okay DON"T kill me.**

**How will Jude take Tommy not being at her party? Will Tommy still get a chance to purpose?**

**I'm a bit sad here because I have realized there are probably no more than 3 chapters left. But the good news is the will be a sequel. Keep the review coming! I love to know what everyone thinks.  
**


	35. Chapter 35

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 35

Jude couldn't sit still while Portia was finishing her hair. "You need to stop." She said laughing.

"I'm excited. Tommy should be here in a few minutes and we can finally put all the rumors to rest."

"And you look beautiful. Where did you get that necklace?"

"Tommy gave it to me this morning." Jude didn't want to tell Portia about where the necklace came from with her being Tommy ex-wife.

"He always had good taste in jewelry. I'm going to go down to the party. See you in a bit."

After Portia was gone, Jude stared into the mirror. She couldn't wait to dance the night away with Tommy. Her heart soared when she saw a text coming through on her phone from Tommy. Then it fell completely after reading. 'Something came up. I won't be at the party. I'm sorry. I love you.'

She thought maybe it was a trick. He had said her birthday presents were only part of what he had for her. So, maybe he wanted to surprise her. He wouldn't dare do this to her. She was frantic. Why would he not be coming? What was going on? This was supposed to be the best night. They had planned on being hand in hand all night. Jude didn't want to go to her own party.

When she looked up, someone was standing behind her. "Sorry, I must have got turned around." Hunter said.

She had this strange feeling run down her spine. "Come on, I'll show you to the party."

"That's a pretty necklace. Did you get it from someone special?"

Jude didn't feel right talking to a stranger about Tommy. Especially when she was getting such a bad vibe from him. "It was just a gift." She replied. Though in her heart it was so much more. It was a piece of Tommy. She couldn't decide if she wanted to rip it off or hold on to it with all her might.

The ballroom looked fabulous. She kept a smile plastered on her face as she entered the party, but she really wanted to cry. She noticed Hunter looking around and figured he was looking for Tommy. Something didn't seem right. She spotted Sadie, and she had a worried look on her face. "I see my sister. Tom won't be here tonight, but enjoy the party."

"Jude who was that?" Sadie asked.

"He said he was an old friend of Tommy's, but I kept getting a weird vibe from him."

"That's not good. Where's Tommy?"

"Text me twenty minutes ago and said he wouldn't be here."

"There are my girls." Stuart said approaching them before they could say anymore about Tommy.

Tommy sat in his living room trying to find the best way to get rid of Hunter. He had to protect everyone that was important to him, and mainly that was Jude. How did they get to this point? What did they do so horrible that fate kept working against them?

He remembered when he had had to go to Montreal a couple of weeks before. It was right when they were trying to deepen their physical relationship.

_He and Karma had just checked into their hotel suite. She'd run to her room on her cell, so he walked out on the balcony. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since he'd almost made love to Jude for the first time. He felt so stupid for not having a condom. It was just unheard of._

_He wanted to call Jude, but knew she was probably getting ready for her show. He never liked missing a show. Watching her on stage was refreshing. Some music was so manufactured, that Jude's reminded him why he loved music in the first place._

_He smiled when his phone rang. "Hey babe." He answered._

"_Hey! How's Montreal?"_

"_Lonely without you. It's just like Darius to book us separated like this."_

"_Like you said it's just a week. I think we can handle it."_

"_Jude, about last night…"_

"_Don't Tommy. It wasn't meant to happen last night. I understand that. I do have a question though."_

"_Okay." He wasn't sure what was coming._

"_If we'd been at your place, would it have ended the same way?"_

_He knew she was teasing, but partly serious too. "I never wanted you to think it was something I expected. After you told me you wanted to wait, I was waiting."_

"_So, that's a yes."_

"_Jude." He whined._

_He heard her laugh. "I'm just kidding. I know you nightstand is empty too. But I understand and thank you." _

"_I always want to show you nothing but respect."_

"_And I love you for it. Now I have to go and get ready for my show."_

"_I hate that I'm going to miss it. I love you, too. I'll talk to you later."_

"_Bye, Babe."_

_When he flipped his phone shut he made a mental note to stock his nightstand when he got home. It was going to be a rough week, but they'd been apart longer than a week before. Also being in Montreal would give him a chance to talk to her dad about his plan, since Stuart was there on business._

All he could do was hope fate was really on their side. He'd know, if she showed up after the party. Beer would be his company until then.

**I know it is shorter than most, but more is coming. Sorry it has taken me so long on the update. I had company over the weekend. I have actually already written two more chapters, and I am working on the final chapter now. So this story will officially have 38 chapters. The one's I have written will be posted when I get them typed up.**

**Hope you enjoy!!! Keep those reviews coming.**


	36. Chapter 36

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 36

With a fake smile plastered on her face, Jude greeted everyone. She knew if she quit smiling then she'd crumble. It was supposed to be Tommy's hand in hers instead of nothing.

While she was dancing with her dad, she tried not to let him see that she was bothered by something. "Is Tom running late?"

"He said something came up, and he wasn't going to make it." She said sadly. She couldn't lie to her dad.

"Really?" Stuart said sounding completely shocked.

"Yeah. It was last minute."

"Jude I'm sure it was something major if he would miss this." She could tell he was trying to be supportive, but she was having a hard time feeling positive without Tommy.

When Darius called her on to the stage with the announcement of how well her album was doing, she felt it was forced. Like she was the only one that didn't know something. Then the band started playing the music for Love To Burn. She hadn't had a chance to tell them she was changing the song. While singing she remembered her last show before Tommy came home from Montreal.

_She had just arrived at the venue. This was the last show of the week and she couldn't have been happier. A show a night was almost too much especially with out Tommy there. He was her support system._

_In her dressing room was a huge bouquet of red roses. She could tell it was more than just a dozen. The card simply said, 'I love you. See you tomorrow. Love, T.' It made her smile. She missed him like crazy. She hated doing shows without him in the wings watching her._

_She had the best show of the week. Thinking of seeing him the next day really boosted her energy level._

"_Wow, Dude! You blew them away." Spied said as they left the stage._

"_Yeah, Jude, that was out best show all week." Kyle added._

"_Squinty must be coming home soon." Spied laughed._

"_For your information, he is coming home tomorrow."_

"_That must have been who those roses were from." Wally commented._

_Jude just beamed. "Maybe." Just then her phone rang. "They are beautiful." She said flipping her cell open._

"_I'm glad you like them. So how was your show?"_

"_Really good. I think I had extra energy thinking about tomorrow." She said lounging on the couch in her dressing room twirling a rose in her hand._

"_What's tomorrow?" She could hear the laughter in his voice._

"_I get to see you."_

"_Oh yeah. I'm looking forward to that too. It's been a long week. Hotel beds aren't as comfortable as they once were."_

"_I don't think they were ever comfortable. You were just too drunk to care."_

"_You're probably right. I wish I could have been at your shows this week. I don't like missing your performances."_

"_I know, and I don't like when you miss them either. I'm so used to being able to look over and see you."_

_They talked until security knocked on her door telling her it was time to go. She called him back after she got home and crawled into bed._

"_So, is Sadie home?"_

"_Nope. She's stayed with Kwest every night this week."_

"_So, you've been staying by yourself?"_

"_I think I can handle it I an almost eighteen."_

"_I know girl. I just wish I was with you."_

"_I still have part of you. I still have your leather jacket. I've been sleeping in it every night so your smell surrounds me."_

"_I don't have anything of yours."_

"_Sure you do, my heart."_

"_I love you girl."_

"_I know Babe." She started yawning. "I love you too."_

"_You need to get some sleep, Harrison."_

"_I want to keep hearing your voice."_

"_Okay." That was the last thing she heard before falling asleep._

Her heart was breaking the whole time she was singing the song.

Tommy had decided he was going to pay Hunter off. He had plenty of cars, so all he needed to do was find a buyer. After a few phone calls, he set up a time for a switch off. Hunter couldn't refuse cold hard cash.

He didn't know if Jude would come over after the party. She'd probably be so pissed that she wouldn't want to see him for days. Just in case he finished his closet and dresser for the proposal.

She sat down hoping no one would question why she looked so lost. That song took all her strength to sing with a smile. It obviously meant nothing.

"Where's Quincy?" Spied asked sitting beside her.

"I don't know. Said something came up. He promised me this night wouldn't turn out like every other birthday. Then he pulls this. I'm done. Every time I feel he's truly changed, he does something."

"Relationships are hard, Dude." She could tell he was staring at Karma.

"You and Karma, huh?"

"Yeah… I mean no."

"Don't worry, Vin, I already figured it out. Don't let her bring you down. But if you really care about her, tell her. And don't stand her up on the biggest night of her life. I gotta get out of here."

Jude needed fresh air. She willed her self not to cry. How could Tommy break his promise? He said they'd dance and nothing would change that, but obviously something did. She ran into Jamie in the lobby.

"Hey. I know everyone you care about is in there, but…"

"Get me out of here." She pleaded.

He called Kwest to check on the party. He needed to know Hunter hadn't done anything.

"Hey, Man." Kwest answered.

"How's the party?"

"Jude's been pretty devastated all night. I can tell by just watching her."

"What about Hunter?"

"I saw him lurking around at the beginning of the party. Even walked Jude in, but I haven't seen him in awhile."

"He walked her in? How did that happen?"

"I don't know, man, but she walked away from him and told Sadie she was getting a weird vibe from him. So I don't think you have to worry about her not keeping her distance from him."

"Good. What's she doing now?"

"She walked out of the ballroom a few minutes ago and hasn't come back."

"Kwest you have to find her."

"Don't worry, T. I will."

Tommy threw his phone down and ran his fingers through his hair. Jude had to be okay. He grabbed another beer and his guitar and went up to his room.

**Okay so there was only one review since my last update. I hope everyone is still interested. Keep letting me know what you think. I love reading the reviews. Actually they drive me to want to write more. Only two more chapters to go. Will it be happily ever after? Come back and find out.**


	37. Chapter 37

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 37

She just stared out the window when Jamie was driving. "What's going on, Jude? Why did you want to leave the party?"

"Tommy never showed. He sent me a text telling me something came up."

"That's weird since he was telling me today he didn't want anything to upset you tonight."

"Of course not. He wanted to do it himself. Jamie have I wasted the last two years of my life?"

Before he could respond, Jude's cell rang. "What's up, Kwest?"

"Where are you?" He sounded worried.

"I left. I couldn't be there anymore without…" She let her voice fade out before saying his name.

"Jude, look he had a good reason for not coming. I just spoke with him and he's at home. Maybe you should go talk to him. He got worried when I told him I couldn't find you."

"Why should I Kwest? This was supposed to be…"

"I know, but are you going to throw everything away before he has a chance to explain the whole situation?"

"You tell me what's going on and maybe I will."

"It's not my place. This is something he has to tell you."

"There wasn't supposed to be anymore secrets." She couldn't just let this go.

"Jude, some things aren't brought up until they have to be."

She knew he was right. She needed to let Tommy speak for himself. "Okay."

"Good. Now Happy Birthday."

"Thanks Kwest." She ended the call and sighed. "Can you take me to Tommy's? My car is there anyway."

"Are you sure? Jude, this is not the first time he has done this to you. It's your birthday, do you really want to be even more heart broken?"

Jamie never understood her relationship and she knew that. "Yeah. I'm going to see what he has to say, then just go home." She sent Tommy a text letting him know she was on her way.

Tommy heard his phone go off, and ran to find it. There was a text from Jude. 'I'm on my way.' He flipped his phone shut. His moment of truth was coming. Everything was set. The closet was half cleaned out, and so was his dresser. One drawer was completely empty except for the black velvet box that held the engagement ring and her pajamas. He hoped he got the chance to ask her and she would say yes.

He thought about the conversation he had with her dad while he was in Montreal.

"_So, Tom, you wanted to talk?" Stuart said after they sat down in the hotel room._

"_You know I love your daughter, and I would do anything to make sure she was happy."_

"_Jude feels the same way about you. I've never seen her happier."_

"_I've done a lot of things in my life that I'm not proud of, but since I met Jude, I've become a totally different person. Music used to be the only thing that meant anything to me. But now Jude is the reason I get up in the morning. I know she's young."_

_Stuart just nodded, but didn't interrupt. _

"_But I've always felt like she was more mature than any other woman my own age. I can't imagine my life with anyone else. So what I'm asking you is would it be okay when she turns eighteen…" He stopped to swallow. Stuart's stare was making him more and more nervous. He was trying to find the right words. "Um. I love Jude, and I would like your permission to ask her to merry me." There he said it._

"_Marriage?" Stuart asked._

"_Yes, Sir."_

"_Wow, that's a big step."_

"_I know. And I know she's young, and in my first marriage I was young. I got married back then for all the wrong reasons. I want to do it right this time. I look at my life years from now, and I see Jude right beside me."_

"_Like I said earlier, I've never seen Jude happier. You bring a light into her eyes that I never saw before. When you were gone, she was a mess. I can't think of a better person to call son-in-law."_

_Tommy felt faint. Stuart just said yes. "Thank you. I promise to always be there for her."_

"_I know you will, son."_

He hoped he'd get a chance to keep his promise to Stuart. He knew not going to the party was breaking it, but he wanted to keep it in the long run.

He went back to his room to wait on her. He'd been working on a new song. His fear of loosing her had inspired him musically.

When she got to Tommy's, she walked in and the apartment was dark. There were a few empty beer bottles on the coffee table. She walked up to his room. "Tommy?"

"In here." He said from inside the room. He was nervous to see her.

Jude pushed the door open and found him sitting in the floor with his guitar in his lap. She was furious. He was acting like nothing was wrong. "Is this what came up? You needed to stay home to drink alone and work on music? Tommy tonight was important to me. You knew how important. I thought it was to you, too. Kwest said I should let you explain, but right now I am questioning his sanity."

He still wasn't completely sure what he was going to say. He was just happy she was there. "When I want to think I like to sit with my guitar. Sometimes I play and sometimes I don't."

"So what are you thinking about? Because if you don't start talking, I'm leaving and never coming back." She was ready to get this over with.

"Did you meet an old friend of mine today?" He asked finally looking up at her. She was a vision. Her dress fit her curves perfectly. His MaMere's necklace looked like it should have always been around her neck.

"Yeah. What's that got to do with you not coming?"

"He's Angie's brother, and he's trouble. Jude, he wants me to suffer and loose everything I love. He blames me for his sister's death. I thought if I wasn't at the party, you'd be safe."

"You think he's going to come after me?" She remembered the creepy feeling she had when he showed up in her dressing room at the hotel.

"You are my life, and the only person that I couldn't stand to loose."

"So, why has he come now? Where has he been over the last two years we've been together?"

"Jail. He went to prison not too long after Angie died. He sort of lost it and got into a lot of trouble that sent him away for the last five years." He studied Jude's face wondering what she was thinking.

"Why didn't you tell me this before the party?" She could feel her anger fading.

"I didn't want to ruin your party. I still wanted you to go and have fun."

"There was no way to have fun without you there. I was miserable. All I could think about was you broke your promise that we'd dance no matter what tonight." She told him as tears glistened in her eyes.

Tommy stood up and turned the stereo on. "I would never break that promise." He said holding out his hand for her to take.

She needed him to do a lot more explaining, but her need to be in his arms was too great. As he pulled her to him, she listened to the lyrics coming from the song.

(Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne)

You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in  
Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
So far away  
I wish you were here  
Before it's too late, this could all disappear  
Before the doors close  
And it comes to an end  
With you by my side I will fight and defend,  
I'll fight and defend  
Yeah, yeah!  
Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Hear me when I say, when I say I believe  
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny  
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!  
La da da da  
La da da da  
La da da da da da da da da  
Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Keep holding on...  
Keep holding on  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

"Jude, I can't loose you." Tommy said when the song faded out.

"I just need you to be honest with me, Tommy. That's all I ever needed. If you say he's a danger, I believe you. What do we do?"

"I'll have to talk to Darius. But one thing we have to do is bump up security. He could make his move at anytime. How did you get here anyway?"

"Jamie brought me."

"You weren't followed were you?"

"Not that I know of. I didn't see Hunter at the party after I told him you wouldn't be there. You know I had a strange feeling about him this afternoon, but figured I was still just being paranoid."

"I won't let him hurt you. If I have to sell a couple of my cars to pay him off, I will."

Jude realized how sincere he was being. "Why did you think you not being there would keep him from doing something?"

"He said something about my girlfriend and her party. I thought he'd think he was wrong about you being my girlfriend if I wasn't there. It was dumb; since I'm sure tabloids are even in jails. He's not stupid. That's why we have to do whatever we can to keep you safe."

"Then we will." She said nodding.

Tommy just pulled her in a tight hug. "I love you, Jude."

"I love you, too." She closed her eyes and enjoyed being in his arms. "So when do I get the next part of my birthday gift?" She wanted to forget Hunter and the party and get the night back on track with Tommy.

He smiled because this was what he'd been waiting for. "Why don't you get changed into something more comfortable and meet me in the living room."

"Okay." She said and kissed him quickly.

**The moment you have been waiting for is coming. How will he ask? What will Jude say?**

**Wow. I know this is like a miracle having another update tonight, but I had the extra time to type. I am not quite finished with the final chapter, but I will get it up as soon as it is done. For all of you who are sad it is coming to an end don't forget I have a sequel in the works. Don't you want to know what happens after her birthday? Well, there will be a preview at the end of the final chapter. I am really excited about it because I am going to try to spice it up some. It will be in the same format as this one with flashbacks.**

**Please Review!!!!!**


	38. Chapter 38

**I own Nothing.**

Chapter 38

Tommy went to the living room and threw away the empty beer bottles. He checked outside to see if there were any shadows lurking around. He knew Hunter wouldn't give up. It was so dark he wasn't able to see anything.

Just an hour before he had been afraid he wouldn't get his chance. He was nervous, but something told him he'd get the answer he wanted. He dimmed the lights, lit some candles, and waited. Soft music was still drifting around the apartment from his bedroom.

Jude went straight to the closet after remembering her bag was still at the hotel. Opening the door, she noticed it was half empty. The only things in there were his everyday clothes. "Where are his sweats?" She asked herself. Then she went to the dresser. In the top drawer, she found her pajamas she kept there. Underneath was a small black velvet box. She couldn't help but gasp, and forget all about changing clothes.

"Tommy?" She said in a questioning voice walking down the stairs.

"Yeah?" He smiled when he saw her face.

"What's this and why is your closet and dresser half empty?"

"Did you open it?"

She shook her head because she felt like she was loosing the ability to speak.

"I started thinking a few weeks ago." He said taking the box from her hands. "Me taking on another artist was going to divide my time with you. Then something caught my eye when I was walking down the sidewalk. It was unique and beautiful just like you. At first I thought it was crazy, but then I thought about how much I love you. The same night I took you to that B&B, and hated I had to bring you home. I want to spend every minute I can with you."

Jude felt tears in her eyes as her breath caught in her throat. She watched as he dropped down on one knee in front of her. Could this really be happening?

"I want you to live with me, and spend your life with me. Will you marry me?" He asked opening the ring box.

The ring was beautiful. All she could think about was how much she loved him. "Yes! Of course!"

Tommy was relieved. Finally they would be together and nothing could change that. He slipped the ring on her finger, and stood up to pull her to him. "I was so scared Jude." He said holding her even tighter.

"Did you really think I'd say no?"

"After the events of today I wasn't so sure."

"As long as you tell me what is going on, you will never loose me." She said and kissed his neck. "Oh my god, my dad is going to freak" She pulled away quickly.

Tommy pulled her over to the couch and sat with her in his lap. "Your dad gave his permission."

"You talked to my dad? When?"

"While I was in Montreal. Remember he was there on business."

"Oh. And he said it was okay?" She couldn't help but smile.

He nodded. "Also said there was no better person he'd rather call son-in-law."

"Are you sure you want to get married again?" She thought about his first marriage.

"I'm not Little Tommy Q anymore. This time I've put a lot of thought into it, and I want you to always be here. I want to wake up with you, go to bed with you, and have a family with you." He'd never been more honest.

"I just got chills." She said.

"Why?"

"You said you wanted a family with me." She smiled again.

"Of course I do, but we have plenty of time for that. I mean you haven't been eighteen for twenty-four hours yet." He laughed holding her tighter.

"So this is real?"

"Yeah, girl, it's real."

"The closet and dresser are cleared for my stuff? How soon do you want me to move in?"

"As soon as you're ready. I know you still have classes, but you're closer to the school here. And with Hunter out there I don't want to let you out of my sight."

"Then I'm home." She said before meeting him in a kiss. She felt like she could burst with happiness. Nothing that happened earlier in the night mattered anymore.

It had been a stressful day for both of them. They released their stress and emotions into the kiss. It was soft and gentle at the same time being fiery and passionate. The thought of being his wife one day made Jude give even more.

Tommy pulled back first. He just looked at the girl, woman that just agreed to marry him. "We still have a lot of issues to deal with." He told her.

"I know, but not tonight. It's my birthday. And we just got engaged."

"Later then." He said standing up cradling her in his arms.

"Isn't it a little early to be carrying me around like a bride?" She giggled.

"Practice makes perfect." He said kissing the crown of her head.

Jude sighed in bliss. "Then I say we head up to the bedroom and practice for our wedding night."

Tommy's only response was to kiss her deeply as he walked. He was so thankful that he had her.

He sat her down by the bed. She looked so beautiful in her dress. He walked behind her moving her hair so he could remove her necklace. Trailing kisses across the back of her neck, he felt her relax into him. Tonight was like their first time all over again. He wanted to take his time with her.

Jude felt her whole body relax to the feel of his lips. They felt like velvet on the back of her neck. His rough fingers were feather light running up and down her arms. Desire was building in her lower belly, but she didn't want to move too fast. She wanted this night to last as long as it could.

He pulled back to unzip her dress. His lips followed the zipper and kissed down her back. When the dress dropped to the floor, he flicked her bra open and it fell on top of her dress. Spreading his hand flat on her stomach, he pulled her flush against his chest.

Jude could feel his excitement against her thigh as he caressed her stomach. Her whole body broke out in goose bumps when she felt his breath on her ear.

"You are the most beautiful, wonderful creature in the world." He whispered in a husky voice.

Jude reached back to run her fingers through his hair and turned her head to meet his lips in a deep inviting kiss. As their tongues met it was like sparks flying. Jude shifted in his arms for better access. She expertly unbuttoned his shirt letting it join her dress on the floor.

They were both still taking their time. Every motion was slow and sensual. They wanted to enjoy every second of the night together. Tommy started to ease her lace panties down her legs, when Jude stopped him.

"Don't you think you're a little over dressed?" She asked with a sexy smirk. She unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down the zipper. His erection got harder at her touch.

With one swift motion, Tommy shimmied out of his jeans. "Boy-band moves were good for one thing at least." He joked before meeting her lips again in a hungry kiss.

After a few seconds, Jude pulled away in a fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Tommy asked confused.

That only fueled the fire making her laugh harder, it was hard for her to breathe, but she couldn't stop.

"Jude, come on. I'm trying to be romantic and make love to my fiancé."

"I'm sorry. When I was twelve I threw darts at your face. I wanted to shot Sadie for ogling over you, and being sure she'd meet and marry you one day."

"Great time to bring that up when we are both mostly naked." He said though he did find the humor in it all.

"I'm marrying Little Tommy Q!" She squealed.

"Oh, I will get you for that." He said wrapping his arms around her slender waist and pulling her against his chest. His lips crashed into hers in an even more intense kiss of the night.

Jude's mind cleared of everything except Tommy. She let her hands rome his back. She loved the feeling of his muscles moving underneath her fingers. His body was perfect.

He backed her to the bed, and hovered over her for a mere second before trailing kisses down her neck. One hand massaged her breast flicking her nipple. He enjoyed the gasp of pleasure that came from her as he took the other into his mouth.

Jude gripped Tommy's hair as the heat was building between her legs. "Tommy, please."

Tommy smiled against her skin. He loved to hear her moan. He continued down to her stomach. He was aching to be inside her, but not yet. He let his hand graze up her inner thigh.

Jude tried not to move anticipating what he was going to do next. She cried out when his fingers teased her most sensitive flesh. It set her on fire.

Tommy looked up into her blue orbs and saw the passion they held. Knowing he would be able to look into those eyes for the rest of his life drove him to take his teasing a little farther. He lowered his head and his tongue snaked out to take sharp licks.

She wiggled helplessly against him. Her swollen flesh became more sensitive to every stroke. He didn't want her to come until he was inside her.

He moved back up her body discarding his boxers as he went. He met her lips in a kiss allowing her to taste herself on his tongue. She was desperate to have him inside her. "Please." She begged again.

He looked at her lovingly. "What?"

"Please, Tommy, I need you inside me." She wasn't embarrassed to tell him what she needed.

He quickly sleeved himself and joined her in the most intimate way. Their bodies shifted together in perfect rhythm. His arms snaked around her back pulling her chest flush with his. They kissed deeply lost in each other.

He rolled them over so she was on top, and sat them up so their eyes locked while they rode out the flames that burned between them.

"I love you." He said before they both flew over the edge together.

"I love you too." She said after coming down from her high with them still connected.

Staring into his eyes brought her mind back to after their second time together.

"_So, you are a sex god." Jude said trying to catch her breath. She was staring into his eyes so deeply she felt she could see his soul._

"_You're not so bad yourself. If we hadn't been together so long, I would think you were lying about never doing this. Where did you learn that?"_

_She couldn't help but smile shyly. She was still getting use to her sexual side. "Would you believe magazines? While you were in Montreal I started to worry that I wouldn't be enough. So, I did a little extra reading that week. One night I called Sadie so many times she turned her phone off. I just had so many questions. She told me to quit over thinking it, and to just always go with my feelings."_

"_Do you still have questions?" He was smirking and she just wanted to hide. "Your blush is cute, but I'm serious."_

"_A few, but I'd rather try them to get my answers."_

"_Well, I'm always here for your research."_

She felt overwhelmed with emotions and tears streamed down her face.

"What's wrong, babe?" Tommy asked wiping her face with his thumb.

"I just really, really love you."

Tommy chuckled a bit. "I love you, too, Jude. That's why I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

She pulled his face to her for a kiss that started everything all over again.

Pulling her close to him, Tommy was ready to settle into a restful sleep. "Jude, I'm sorry I skipped the party. I never wanted to hurt you that way. I just didn't know what to do."

She raised her head from his chest. "Don't worry, Tommy. I understand, and this makes up for everything." She placed her left hand on his chest.

He brought her hand to his lips to kiss her ring finger and kissed her forehead. He knew as long as they held onto each other, they would have the life together they deserved.

**There you go. Let me know what you think. I will have the sequel preview ready in a day or so.**


	39. Sequel preview and teaser

**You're Still the One Preview.**

Jude is in London. Her 21st birthday is right around the corner and she is getting ready to move back to Toronto. As she is packing she thinks back about how much her life has changed since her 18th birthday.

Questions to be answered:

Is she going home to Tommy?

Are she and Tommy moving home?

Or

Is she going home to reclaim Tommy?

**Teaser**

She stood in front of the huge crowd that came to bid her farewell. It was overwhelming that this was really her last performance in her hometown. She looked over and saw Tommy standing at the side of the stage with roses. Her Tommy. Her heart and soul. She knew if he hadn't gone home when his mom got sick, they'd already been married. She twisted her engagement ring on her finger. Was their argument a sign that they needed time a part? Should she go to London alone and Tommy stay behind? She was only eighteen. Maybe she needed to have her own experiences. Maybe she needed to grow some before starting her life with him. She knew he was her future.

**Coming soon!!!**


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